


Feli's Existence

by TheBlackKid



Series: Special of Puyo Puyo [2]
Category: Puyo Puyo (Video Games)
Genre: Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Finding True Happiness, Gen, Self-Hatred, deep thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-07-18 13:15:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 47,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16119233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBlackKid/pseuds/TheBlackKid
Summary: Everyone knows Feli for being the gothic lolita that's quite skilled in the occult art of divination. But Feli does live a second life. One that hurts her more than one might think. Rated M for swearing.





	1. Act 1 - The Truth Comes Out

“ ** _Fufufufu! I can see it! It’s coming! The day where I finally get to have my fated day with Lemres is almost here! And there’s no way it’ll go wrong this time! I’ve planned every step in advance, using every possible charm to aid me in my conquest of his love! And if anyone gets in my way, I’ll drown them with a hex of endless suffering! I don’t want to have to do such a thing to these cretins, but…_**

**_SUCH…_ **

**_IS…_ **

**_FATE…_ **

**_Fufufufu!_** ”

***KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK***

“ **Hey! Feli! Keep it down in there! The neighbors will complain about you again!** ”

“S-Sorry, Mom! I-I’m going to bed now! I-I p-p-promise!”

“ **Hmph! You better!** ”

…

…

“ _Evil bitch._ ” I silently whispered to myself.

It was pretty much a normal night for me. I was talking to myself in the mirror about one day my dream of being together with Lemres will finally become a reality…and then I get interrupted my mother, who would often yell at me to shut up and go to bed. I don’t really get along with my mother…like not at all. To the point where we hate each other. I seriously can’t stand my mother…

…

…w-well, to be honest…I actually fear my mother. She’s kinda abusive to me. And when I say, “a little”, I actually mean a lot. She beats me whenever I act out into my other personality. And with doing this every day, the beatings happen every day. And it’s **_how_** she beats me that makes it even worse.

Whenever beating time comes along (that’s what she calls it), she forces me to remove my panties and get on her lap. Then she starts beating my bare bottom with a wooden paddle. And every time she does it, she does it harder than the last. I would cry throughout the whole time, begging her to stop and have mercy on me, but that only pisses her off more…thus making her beat me even harder.

When she finally has had enough, she just leaves me on the ground to cry out my pain. And she doesn’t even give back my panties either. Like they would help, anyway. It would be too painful for me to sit down anywhere for days at a time.

Plus, it’s also embarrassing for me to constantly go out and buy a pack of panties every week.

But…there’s a good outcome to that. It’s something I’ve been planning for a while now if things go from bad to worse with my mother, but…I don’t want to think about it right now.

Right now, I need to prepare. For tomorrow…my true desires will finally come true! As destiny has foretold, I shall be with Lemres, my one true love! And this time, I’ll make sure no one gets in my way!

“ ** _Wait for me, Lemres! I’m coming for you soon!_** **_Fufufufu!!!_** ”

“ ** _FELI……I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO GO TO BED!!!!_** ”

“Gah! I-I-I-I am! I-I-I’m going to bed now! P-P-P-Please don’t beat me again!”

“ **If I hear one more word out of you, I’ll make your ass bleed! Got it?!** ”

“Y-Y-Yes! I-I-I u-u-u-understand!”

Once I heard footsteps getting quieter, I got underneath my blanket and did what I normally do every night before going to bed…

…Cry myself to sleep.

“ _W-Why…j-just why? M-Mommy…D-Daddy….j-just why did you abandon me? W-Why did you leave me all alone when I needed you the most? I may hide it on the outside, but inside…I’m miserable without you two. I miss you both._ ”

I say these words every night before closing my eyes and falling asleep. When you think of me sleeping, you probably think I dream about me and Lemres being together as lovers, huh?

Well…you’re wrong. By a long shot.

Every night, I dream about past days of my life. These days that I dream about are really special to me. Because they’re the last memories that I have of my parents.

That “mother” that I said I feared, she’s not my real mother. I’m actually adopted. My parents abandoned me when I was 3-years-old. And I ended up with this old-hag.

She never cared for me. Not even once. She never treated me like a daughter…but instead like a dog.

Although, I shouldn’t really say that. Cause I’m pretty sure she’ll treat a dog **_way_** better than she treats me.

When I think about it, I think that woman only took me in for the money she gets from the government. When she gets it, she spends it like crazy on stuff that doesn’t relate to me.

Clothes (for her)

Shoes (for her)

Make-up and jewelry (for her)

At one point, she asked the government for more money so she can “go all out for my 13th birthday”. But she didn’t do a damn thing for that day, or any of my birthdays for that matter. She just bought more crap for herself.

I often have to steal money from her purse in order to fend for myself. It was the only way I was able to secretly buy food, clothes, and those multiple packs of panties in order for me to survive.

I usually hide these things in my room, which is also where I hide whenever I’m home. Sometimes I practice my charm making and read into the future…but most of the time, I spend my time crying to myself in my closet. Asking myself what did I do to have my parents abandon me like this. Why did they give up on me? Why must I suffer this hellish life with someone who not only doesn't love me, but doesn’t even treat me like a human being?

These thoughts are always circling my mind like a high-powered fan on its highest setting. They’ve infected my body like a deadly virus slowly eating away my happiness and sanity. I try so hard to hide these feelings whenever I’m outside…

…but there are times where I just want to curl up into a ball underneath a tree and cry the heaviest tears of sadness and despair. All I want is for someone to love me. To not be alone anymore. That’s why ever since I met Lemres that one day, I’ve been chasing him to this day. What he did for me was the only nice thing that’s been done to me.

I want that type of love to happen to me every day. But at this point, I can’t decide if I want it or need it. I can’t really tell the difference, honestly.

All I can say is…whether it’s "want" or "need", the feeling of love…deserves to be mine!

_Because there are some things a simple charm can’t fix…_

_…_

_…Like a shattered heart._

 

My morning routine is always the same. I wake up earlier than that woman, like **_WAY_** early, just so I don’t have to come in contact with her. I honestly don’t need to have any more fear and sadness to clog up my mind.

I quietly sneak around the house in order to not wake her up. to the bathroom to shower and brush my teeth, the kitchen to sneak some food with me, and then back to my room to eat said stolen breakfast.

Every time I do this, I think to myself _just why the hell am I sneaking food like a rat in my own home?_ Living here and being treated this way for so long…I guess I just got used to it.

_Although I wish I didn’t._

After a few minutes of silently crying to myself, I (somehow) managed to calm myself down and sneak out my bedroom window so that my “mother” won’t hear me. Down at the bottom of this rope that I always keep with me is my dog, Baldanders. But I just call him Bal for short. During one of my charm practices, I accidentally summoned him in one of my spells. He’s been incredibly loyal to me, and has always been my one and only friend. Like most my other stuff, I kept Bal hidden from “mom”. Because if it wasn’t for him, I probably would’ve committed suicide by now.

“I’ll be back, Bal. Don’t get caught, okay?”

“ _ARF!_ ”

I then gave him a quick pat and rub on his head before beginning to sneak out the house without getting caught.

As I walk down the block away from my house, I ready my thoughts on the one and only thing that makes me happy in this life I’m in…

…Seeing Lemres today, like every other day I’ve done this.

Seeing his cheerful smile and his abundance of candy disguises my misery and sorrow from the outside world. Sometimes, though, a bit too much.

I desire the happiness and love that Lemres’ aura gives to me so much, that I tend to go a little crazy. I’m actually known in town for having a screw loose, as I constantly go into this little chant that involves curses and stuff.

I’m not proud of it. I want people to see me as a normal girl and treat me as one too. But with me saying such creepy things to everyone and looking so scary like a gothic lolita (whatever the hell that is), I don’t blame them for thinking I’m crazy.

I don’t even respect myself sometimes.

“Hey! Feli! Wait up!”

_Crap! Someone saw me! Much act creepy! As much as I don’t want to…_

“Morning, Feli! Today’s a nice day, isn’t it?”

“Ah. Amitie. Yes. Today is a nice day. Nice day, indeed. _Fufufufu!_ ”

“Heh-heh. Yep. Sure is…”

 _sigh._ Amitie. The always cheerful girl with not a single worry to think about. The girl who always has a smile on her face no matter what the situation is.

She’s a bit of a dunce, but in a way…I envy her. I bet she gets tons of love and respect from everyone. I mean, I can see it. She is a pretty girl. What I don’t see is how come she doesn’t have a boyfriend. I don’t have one either, but…

…That won’t be a problem much longer.

_I can only hope._

“So, uh…Feli. What do you plan to do today?”

“Well, I’m currently…”

“Hey! Amitie!”

“Hi, Arle! Hi Ringo!”

 _sigh._ Great. More people whose happiness I envy so much. Although I don’t really know these two much, with them being from different worlds and such. But much like Amitie, I’m secretly jealous of their happiness too.

“Whatcha doing, Amitie?” Arle asked her.

“I was just talking with Feli.”

“R-Really?” Ringo asked. Then both girls turned to look at me with looks of…uncertainly.

“What’s with those looks?!” I yelled with my occult girl persona.

“ **N-Nothing! W-We weren’t starring! W-Why would we give you such odd looks?! W-We were just spacing out, th-that’s all!** ” They both panicked with fear.

_Damn. I did it again._

Like I said, I’m known here in town to be a bit scary. From the outside, it’ll look like I don’t care. But inside, it actually hurts. A lot. But I can’t really show it to anyone…

…More like, I don’t have anyone to show it to.

“A-Anyway, Feli…what were you going to do?” Amitie asked me. She looked and sounded ineffective to my creepy voice disguise, which made me a little happy on the inside.

“I’m actually looking for Lemres. I’m hoping that today he’ll finally realize that our love is bounded by fate, **_and be my one true love for all eternity! Fufufufu!_** ”

Once again, Arle and Ringo looked like they feared me at this very moment. But unlike them, Amitie was somewhat calm. I say “somewhat” because she had a look of nervousness on her face.

“U-Uh…F-Feli. D-Don’t you know?” She asked.

“Huh? Know what?”

“Uh…well…”

“ **Speak already, you vile vixen! What has happened to my dear Lemres?! Tell me now or suffer the most deadly of curses! _KEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!_** ”

“ **GAH! J-Just tell her, Amitie!!!** ” Arle shouted in fear.

“ **P-Please tell her!!! I-I’m too young to die!!!** ” Ringo also shouted in fear.

“Alright, alright! Just calm down already!” Amitie said. “Well, Feli…y-you see…L-Lemres…is gone.”

I blanked out a little after hearing that. I shook my head a bit to try to wake myself up. Because what she just said can’t be true, right?

…

Right?

“Wh-Wha…What did you say?”

“I-I said he’s gone. A-As in…h-he moved.”

“M…Moved?”

“He had something to take care of that involved the comet warlocks or something like that. He had to move away to be closer to the situation, and he left yesterday.”

“ _Wh…What?_ ” I started sounding weak.

“I’m so sorry you had to find out this way, Feli. If there’s anything we could do to make you feel better…”

“ **W-WE?!** ” Arle and Ringo panicked.

They continued talking to each other, but I stopped listening. I was too busy trying to keep myself from bursting into tears right then and there. I couldn’t believe it…I just couldn’t believe it. Lemres, my true love, the only person that kept me happy through my life of hell…is gone.

Gone forever.

Never to be seen by me ever again.

Forever separated.

Gone.

I couldn’t hold it anymore. I had to cry. But not out here in plain view. I needed a place to be alone. A place to accept the fact…

…That I’ll forever be alone.

So I left. I started walking away from the three girls without them noticing as I went to go look for a place to cry.

 

It didn’t take long for me to find a place to be alone. I found a big tree in the park that had a big shadow casting over it. So that no one would be able to see me cry.

Whether or not if they’ll hear me…well that’s a different story.

“ _W-Why, Lemres? J-Just why? Why did you abandon me too? First my parents, now you. Why is it that the people I love keep abandoning me like this? All I want is for someone to love me. To treat me like a normal human being. **Is that fucking too much to ask?!**_ ”

After I yelled that obscenity, I continued to cry to myself as I now have a fully broken heart. I was positive that nothing could fix it now, and I was hoping that nothing could make it worse.

Unfortunately, I was only half right.

“Hey, guys. Have you seen Feli around? I’m trying to look for her.”

I heard Amitie’s voice, which made me stop crying and look around the area to make sure no one saw me. As I got up from under the tree, I gained a view of Amitie’s hat behind a bush and went over to get a closer look on what was happening.

What I saw was the three girls from before: Amitie, Arle, and Ringo. But this time, they were joined by Raffina, Klug, Sig, and Lidelle. All of then were in a group huddle of some kind. And for some reason, my name was brought up.

“Huh? Why are you looking for Feli?” Raffina asked.

“Well, I told her that Lemres moved away from here and she looked pretty sad afterward.”

“Huh. How sad. But I really don’t know, or care, where that creepy she-devil ran off to.”

“ _C-Creepy she-devil…?_ ” I whispered to myself.

“Raffina! How could you say something like that?!” Amitie asked.

“Really, Amitie? Are you **_THAT_** naïve?”

“I’m not surprised. You expect that from someone who’s as dense as her.” Klug added.

“ **H-Hey! I’m not dense!** ”

“Oh, really? Then how come you haven’t noticed that Feli is nothing more than a psychotic freak?”

“ _P-Psychotic…freak?_ ” I whispered again.

“As much as it pains me to say this, but Klug’s right. Feli’s a mental little girl.” Raffina said.

“ _M…Mental?_ ”

“Don’t you guys think you’re being a little bit too mean there?” Amitie asked.

“ **Oh, come on! Open your eyes, Amitie! You see how she acts every day! She’s a psychopath! A loon! Brain damaged! It’s so damn obvious!** ” Raffina shouted.

“R-Raffina’s right, Amitie. Feli is a scary person. Every time I’m near her, I fear that she’ll kill me with one of her hexes.” Lidelle said.

“And you saw how me and Ringo acted earlier. We were completely terrified.” Arle said.

“She haunts me in my deep thoughts and dreams. Her voice alone fills my body with fear.” Ringo added.

“Everyone thinks this?” Amitie asked.

“ **Yes! Everyone!** ” The rest shouted.

“Even you, Sig?”

…

…

“Sig!”

“Huh? What were we talking about?”

“About Feli.” Klug said.

…

“Who’s Feli?”

_He doesn’t even remember me?!_

“ _sigh._ Well that should prove our point.”

“Do you get it now, Amitie? We all fear and/or just don’t like being around Feli.” Arle said.

“Surely you’ve noticed yourself, right?” Ringo asked.

Amitie went silent for a good while. Everyone was waiting to hear what she thought about all this.

Everyone…including me.

“W-Well…okay, yes. She is scary. Especially when she would talk about being together with Lemres. It just brings shivers to my spine.”

“ **Hmph.** It’s her fault that Lemres left in the first place. That demented lolita.” Klug said.

At this point, I had full blown heavy tears of sadness and hurt running down my face. Never in my life have I heard such hateful descriptions about me. I mean yes, I had an idea that they think I’m crazy. But for them to use _those_ words to describe me…

…My depressed state of mind was slowly being taken over. My thoughts of despair and loneliness were temporarily replaced…

_I can’t take it…_

_I can’t take it…_

_I can’t take it…_

_I can’t take it…_

  _I can’t take it…_

_I can’t take it…_

_…_

_…_

_…_

**_I CAN’T TAKE THIS SHIT ANYMORE!!!!_ **

…with nothing but rage.

I stepped out through the bush and stood behind the group of people who talked nothing but crap about me just mere seconds ago. Some of them had intense fear shown right on their faces, and they had every right to.

“ **F-Feli?! W-Were you here the whole time?!** ” Amitie panicked.

“Well, that made it easier on us to tell her.” Klug said.

“ _Screw you…_ ” I whispered.

“Hah? What did you say?” Klug was starting to get irritated.

“ _Screw you…_ ”

“ **What the hell did you just say to me, you little psycho?!** ” Raffina shouted while raising up her sleeve and forming a fist with her right hand.

“ _I said…I said…I said… **I SAID SCREW YOU!!! EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!!! YOU GODDAMN ASSHOLES!!! I FUCKING HATE ALL OF YOU!!!!**_ ”

These were the last words I said before running off while crying a heavy set of tears all the way home. I didn’t get to hear what they had to say…not that I wanted to, anyway.

They’re all dead to me.

 

As soon as I got home, I hid in my closet and continued to cry for the rest of the day. Didn’t even come out for lunch or dinner. But I did come out every once in a while to use the bathroom, due to the bunch of snacks and drinks I hid in my closet.

As I continued to cry, I eventually got into a fetal position and regained my eternal sadness from earlier. And I had run out of tears as I started thinking to myself…lost in my own depressed thoughts once again.

“ _It’s not fair…it’s just not fair. Just what the hell did I do to deserve this suffering? Constantly being abandoned and left alone, beaten every day just for being myself, **WHY AM I FORCED TO LIVE THIS WAY?! WHY?!**_ ”

I started beating the floor in angst and despair. While doing so, I hit something with my hand. What it was…

…It was a knife, that I’ve kept hidden deep inside my closet.

I’m not afraid to admit this. I’ve actually considered suicide multiple times throughout my life. And each time I’ve tried to do it, I always chicken out. I never had the heart to take my own life. My heart is shattered, but not shattered enough for that.

I then remembered something from earlier. That one thing I mention this morning.

My secret plan.

I dug around the closet looking for the other secret item that I’ve hidden there. I gained a tiny smile on my face once I finally found it.

It was a jar full of money. Filled to the brim. Every bit of change I gathered from buying food and panties for me, stealing money from my “mother”, and if I get lucky, on the floor whether at home or out on the street. I saved it all and kept it in this jar. Simply labeled…

…My Freedom Jar.

“It’s time. I have to do this. I’ve saved enough money for this moment. And it’s clear to me that I’m not wanted here…

Not respected here…

Not loved here.”

So it was decided. I was going to run away. Away from the pain and suffering that’s plagued my heart for so long. To where, you ask? I don’t even know, or care for that matter. Anywhere would be better than the hell-hole I’ve been in for the past 12 years.

So I waited. Waited for when everyone was asleep. That was the perfect time to make my escape. I changed out of my black maid-like dress and into a black hoodie and black shorts and switched out my pretty red shoes for some black & white sneakers. I kept the red ribbon on my head, though. It was a present from my true mom, and I didn’t have the heart to leave it behind.

I then packed all of my snacks and drinks, along with the remaining pairs of panties I had left over, and my Freedom Jar into a magic backpack (that I also hid in my closet), and headed out my bedroom window. Slowly climbing down the rope to the ground.

Before I left, I took one good look at Bal. He’s too big for me to sneak away with me, so I left him a note and patted his sleeping head one last time.

“ _Bal. I’m so sorry._ ” I whispered, trying not to shed a tear.

I then started my undoubtedly long trip to freedom, a new life, and possibly a heart filled with love once more. I didn’t want to have it end up like this. I’m basically leaving all of my possessions, my only friend, and everything I’ve come to know and somewhat love about this town. Just so I can reclaim the happiness that I had 12 years ago.

_But such is fate._

 

**_End of Act 1_ **

 


	2. Act 2-1 Lost Lolita

**_*sigh*_ **

“What’s wrong, Amitie?” Arle asked me.

“Guys…I still think we were too harsh on Feli.”

“ **S-Seriously?!** ” Both Arle and Ringo shouted with a little fear in them.

“Yes, seriously. Not only did we say those mean things about her, but she heard every word. She even cursed us out and ran off crying. That’s not normal of her. She really took it hard, and I’m really worried.”

“ ** _*sigh*_** Amitie…” Arle said.

“Sometimes, you’re just too caring.” Ringo added.

That only got me angry. How the heck can someone be “too caring”?!

“What? Are you two saying that you don’t care what happens to **another human being?** ”

“W-Well…”

“W-Well…”

“ _ARF!_ ” “ _ARF!_ ” “ ** _ARRRRF!_** ”

We then saw Baldanders running towards us with a sad look on his face. He looked like he was crying. And his entire body looked like it was in a panic state.

“Bal? What happened? What’s wrong?” I asked.

**_*whine*_ **

I then noticed the note in his mouth and took it from him so I could see what it says. Reading it tore me up a lot. I almost cried myself, but I held it in for Bal’s sake.

The note read:

_Bal,_

_I’m sorry for leaving you like this, but…but I just had to leave._

_Earlier today, I found out that nobody in town likes me. They all fear me and think I’m a…demented lolita._

_Now with nothing but hated surrounding me at home and from the outside, I couldn’t live like this anymore. I knew I only had two choices: commit suicide, or run away from all the hatred._

_And since you didn’t see my bloody corpse this morning, it’s obvious that I ran away._

_I sorry I didn’t take you with me, but you’re just too big for me to sneak off with. But I promise, if I ever find true happiness again, I’ll summon you back with me._

_Like I said, **IF** I find happiness…_

_Your only friend,_

_Feli_

_P.S: I miss you already._

“N-No way! Feli ran away?! That’s horrible!” I said.

**_*whine*_ **

“And you don’t know where she went, huh? Well, don’t worry, Bal. We’ll help you find her.”

“ **ARF!** ”

“W-We?!” Arle and Ringo panicked.

“What?! Are you guys serious?!”

“Amitie! You’ve gotta understand…”

“Understand what?! That you’re both too chicken to help out a human being?! And yet, you call yourself a hero, Arle!”

“ **H-Hey! I AM a hero!** ” Arle got insulted.

“ **Really?! Cause all I’m looking at are a bunch of cowards!** ”

“ **I’M NOT A COWARD!** ”

“ **WELL, YOU’RE SURE AS HELL PROVING OTHERWISE!** ”

“G-Guys?” Ringo asked. Shaking in fear from us yelling at each other.

“ **Fine! Forget you guys! I’ll go ask the others for help! Maybe one of them will have at least 1/10 of the courage you have right now! Come on, Bal!** ”

“ **ARF!** ”

“ **Ha! Good luck! No one’s ever going to help you find her! They feel just the same way!** ” Arle yelled as I walked away from two jerk-ish cowards I used to call friends.

_Good riddance, meanies!_

 

**Act 2-1 – Lost Lolita**

 

“Miss…hey, miss.”

“H-Huh?”

“This is the last stop. So unless you want to turn back around, you’ll have to get off here.”

“O-Oh. O-Okay, I’ll get off. Thank you, sir.”

“No problem, miss.”

With the money I have saved up in secret for so long, I was able to take the next bus out of town. I had no idea where it would go to, so I decided to use the time to get some sleep. I didn’t keep track of how long I’ve slept. Possibly a few hours or so. But when I woke up, it was nearly sunrise. So it was possibly between 5 and 6 am.

I stepped off the bus and went through the bus station to get to the exit. When I got outside, I saw that I was in a huge city of some sorts. There were buildings so tall that they were blocking the sunlight, a rail of some sorts that looked like it was for a train or subway, and the most noticeable part, swarms of people walking the streets to who knows where. There were men and women in business suits, older women carrying groceries of some kind, and a bunch of teens wearing a bunch of different kinds of school uniforms. Which made me think that there were at least 3 or 4 schools nearby. Most likely high schools, since the uniforms look pretty mature.

As I looked around this place, it started to get warmer than earlier this morning. So I decided to take off my black hoodie and just wear a black and purple t-shirt I had underneath. Then I placed the hoodie in my magic backpack and zipped it up. but not before I got some money out of my Freedom Jar. I was really hungry, so now I was going to find someplace to eat.

Hopefully, they’ll let me in.

As I started walking and looking around, I had to walk past a bunch of people that towered over me. Some even blocked my view of the sunlight. I always hated being short. Another negative about me that I constantly hide from other people. The last time I measured myself, I was 4' 11". I had recently turned 12 during that time. Now, being 15, I’m still 4' 11". I don’t want to believe that I’ve stopped growing. But with me being the same damn height for 3 years (and barely having any boobs, but I don’t want to talk about that), I’m starting to give up.

_I wonder if my real mom is this short. Or at least a little taller than me._

***GROWL***

“ ** _*whine*_** My stomach. I hope I can find something to eat soon.”

I then started smelling something in the air. A scent that…smelled really good. Like **REALLY** good. It made my mouth drool a little and I actually grew a smile for the first time since yesterday. Not even yesterday. That was just a cover-up for my constant sadness.

“ ***sniff* *sniff*** _That smell…_ ***sniff*** ***sniff*** _It smells so good!_ ***sniff* *sniff* *sniff* _I MUST HAVE IT!!! FUFUFUFU!!!_** ”

I decided to follow the scent and it lead me to a building of some sorts. The smell from it became clearer the more I got closer. It smelled like…p…pancakes. It’s been a long time since I’ve had pancakes. Just thinking about the last time I’ve had some is turning my mouth into a waterfall.

_I better hurry up and get some before a puddle of drool hangs around my feet._

I approached the building and got in the really really long line from the outside. Guess I’m not the only person who wants these pancakes. I don’t blame them, though. They smell **_so_** good…

“Hey, you!”

…

“You! Girl with the purple hair!”

I turned around to see a group of boys heading towards me. They looked way taller than me, and they had on some kind of brown school uniform.

I admit, I was scared. Terrified, even. I didn’t know what these boys wanted or what they were going to do to me. So I grabbed my two dowsing rods and hid them behind my back just in case.

“Hey, girly! You’re in our spot! Move it!” One of the boys said. Standing behind him were two other boys just smiling and snickering while this encounter went on.

“What?! How the hell is this your spot?! I was here first!” I yelled.

“It’s our spot because **WE** claimed it! Now **MOVE!** ” A second boy demanded.

“Wow. That has to be the most bullshit excuse I’ve ever heard. If you’re trying to bully me into giving up my place in line, then you really suck at this. Piss off!” I tried to act all tough to these jerks, but it completely backfired on me.

Like… **REALLY** backfired.

“Oh! So the little bitch wants to act tough, huh?! Then we’ll show you how tough boys like us can really be! **Get her, boys!** ”

The next thing I knew, I was being held off the ground from both my arms while the boys who gave the command, possibly the ringleader, came closer to me while cracking his fist in the most threating way possible.

I tried to escape. Even tried to get my dowsing rods from my back pocket. But the two boys holding me up were too strong. I could barely move. All I could do watch as the leader of this group came closer to me. His evil and threatening smile getting more and more violent.

“ **H-Help! Someone! Anyone! HELP ME!** ”

“Aw, look. The once tough little bitch is now a whiny little sack of shit. It’s almost sweet. Not as much as me beating the living shit out of you!”

“ **H-HEEEEEELP!!!** ”

“ **HEY!** ” I heard a voice coming from behind me, but I couldn’t see who it was. I kept squirming, but I still couldn’t move. Then…

***BONK***

***BONK***

“ **Ow! What the hell just hit me?!** ” One of the boys that was holding me up winced in pain as he was rubbing his head.

“ **I the hell just hit you! I thought I told you asswipes to never come back here!** ”

“Crap! It’s Futaba!”

_Futaba?_

“Fuck off, Futaba! This isn’t your damn business!” The ringleader yelled.

“ **It is my business when you punks cause trouble every day! Not to mention bullying a little girl like this! Do you have any sense of** **morality?!** ”

“ **I SAID FUCK OFF!!!** ” The ringleader came charging at the girl full speed with his fist in the air. I got out the way and turned to see a girl with short brown hair carrying what looked like a giant bamboo stick in her hands. She looked rather serious. Like she was good and ready for this fight.

As the ringleader got close to her, he threw the long-awaited punch. Only to be blocked off by this bamboo-wielding girl. And she was good, too. Blocking punch by punch with a giant piece of bamboo, and even tripped the guy over by hitting his left leg.

_Damn! This girl’s a total badass!_

As the girl stood over the ringleader with the bamboo stick over his face, I was mentally cheering her on. But then I saw one of the two boys from earlier get up and ambush her. Wrapping her in a tight bear hug as the ringleader got back up himself.

“ _Well, well, well. Looks like feisty ‘ol Futaba can’t move. Kinda ironic, don’t you think?_ ” He teased.

“ **Grr…Let…me…go! You brute!** ” The girl shouted as she tried to escape.

“Let you go?! Are you insane?! I’ve been wanting to punch that bitchy face of yours since that first encounter we had! And now… **now I FINALLY get my revenge!** ”

“Aw, damnit!”

“ **Nighty night, you little sh…** ”

“ **Horary!** ”

“Wha…What the?! I-I can’t move!”

“I-It worked…it actually worked! I actually did it!” I cheered to myself. I had grabbed my dowsing rods from my back pocket and used a spell on the ringleader. In addition to practicing charm making, I also practice spells of the divine. Even though I’ve been doing this for as long as I can remember, I’m still new at this. Which is why I was shocked when this particular spell worked so well.

This spell, by the way, makes the victim unable to move for a short period of time. It came in handy whenever I had to sneak around home to avoid the evil witch known as my step-mother. Not that I was proud that it had gone to **that** level of survival.

“H-Hey, Boss! You okay?!” The boy holding the girl asked. That was when the girl broke free and knocked him in the head again with the bamboo stick. Then she went over and pelted the ringleader until my spell ran out. He then laid on the floor struggling to get back up.

“ _D-Damn…double the bitches are a pain in the ass…_ ” He said weakly.

“That’s right! And unless you want the cops all over your pathetic little ass as well, I suggest you leave. And never come back this time. Got it?!” The girl threaten.

“ _Grr…j-just you wait, Futaba! I’ll get my revenge! On you, and this_ _gothic lolita too!_ ”

The three boys then got up and went on their way. Noticeably limping as they walked away in defeat. I took this time to place my dowsing rods back inside my magic backpack before the girl could ask about them.

And now came the hard part.

“Th-Thank you…for…y-you know…rescuing me. I-I’m really grateful.”

“Hey, no problem. Those jerks just never learn, so this is like a weekly thing for me. I’m just glad neither one of us got hurt.” The girl said.

_She deals with those boys every week?!_

“W-Well…I-I better be going now. Thanks again for the help.” I started walking away from the restaurant, mildly embarrassed of what just happened and extremely disappointed that I won’t be able to have those delicious pancakes. And they really smelled good, too. Too bad I’ll never get to see how they taste…

“Huh? Hey, where you going?!” The girl called out to me.

“Huh?”

“Don’t you want some pancakes? I mean, you were in line for them, right?”

…

…

“W-Well…y-yeah, but…”

“Come on, don’t be shy. I pretty much owe you for helping me out back there. Tell you what, they’re on me. As a token of my gratitude.”

_Fr-Free pancakes?! I can’t say no to that! Plus, I don’t think I can do much more on an empty stomach. I’ve gotta eat._

“S…Sure. I-If you say so.” I said, still a bit nervous.

I then followed the girl inside the store, bypassing the entire line along the way. As I did so, one thought came to mind.

_Why the hell did none of these assholes help me?!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! This story FINALLY gets an update! It kept bugging me how it only had one chapter for so long, but I didn’t know where this was going until yesterday, when I got an idea.
> 
> The story will still be 3 acts, but the act will be separated by part. Like how this one is Act 2-1. The next will be Act 2-2. And so forth. Not sure how and when this will update now (with this being story number 4 that I’m currently working on. Even though I said I would never do four at once ever again. I’m such a hypocrite). So please bear with me. 
> 
> Until then, feel free to review, favorite, and/or follow the story. Thanks for reading. Later.


	3. Act 2-2 The Girl Named Futaba

I walked inside the building with the girl from earlier and I was pretty amazed at what I saw.

The place was **PACKED!** And I mean to the brim with people. Every table I saw was filled up with people. No more than a group of four, it seemed. All were chatting up a storm while eating giant stacks of pancakes. They looked so damn good! And they smelled like that, too! I couldn’t stop staring at some of them! I really wanted some of them so goddamn badly!

“ _So good…so good…I must have them! **They will be mine! Fufufufu!**_ ”

“Well, someone’s excited.” The girl said to me. I then started blushing from the embarrassment that I actually said that out loud. Let alone in my occult girl persona.

_Damnit, Feli! Control yourself! You don’t want a repeat of back at home!_

“S-Sorry. Th-That just came out…”

“ ***giggle*** Don’t worry about it. I hear stuff like that all the time.”

“Huh?”

“The “wanting pancakes” part.”

“O-Oh, right.”

We eventually went up to the front counter and I saw that this place had more than just pancakes. There were donuts, kolaches, cakes, pastries, different kinds of ice cream flavors, and a crap ton of candy. I felt like just one trip to this place could give me an endless amount of cavities. It all looked so good.

“Just sit here and I’ll go get us some pancakes. Want anything else with them?” The girl asked me.

“R-Really? You sure? I-I don’t think I can afford much else.” That bus ticket really made a dent in my Freedom Jar.

“Like I said, it’s on me. So eat to your heart’s content.”

_This girl…she’s so kind._

“Um….okay. I’ll just have a donut and uh…some hot chocolate?”

“Coming right up!” the girl cheered as she walked off.

As I waited for the food, I looked around at the other people in this (now being called) restaurant. The people here looked…rather different from me and others I knew back home. Their facial features were way different from mine, and they were way better dressed than me. Even if I kept on my dress, I’d still feel different.

And what’s more, most of the people here were wearing that brown school uniform I saw earlier with those thugs. It was a mix of boys and girls, with the boys wearing brown long pants while the girls wore a brown skirt. Like I said before, that outfit looked really mature. I would love to wear that sometime.

“Here you go! One stack of pancakes, a donut, and a cup of hot chocolate! Hot ‘n ready to eat!” The girl said as she sat the food down in front of me. My eyes widen up extensively as I saw the stack of pancakes dripping freshly made syrup from the top. It was so big. I wasn’t sure if I could eat it all.

But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try.

“Woah… they look **_so_** good!” I said.

“And they taste even better! Come on, give them a try!”

I took the knife and fork that were in front of me and cut a small piece of the pancakes to put in my mouth. As soon as I took that first bite…my god, I was in heaven. The fluffiness of the pancakes mixed in with the hot juicy syrup was like an explosion of flavor in my mouth. It was truly the best thing I’ve had since the time I stole my stepmom’s credit card and used it to buy a whole pizza. Especially since I got it for free.

“ **MMMMM! SO GOOD!!!** ” I shouted with glee.

“See? I told you! Nobody can compete with these pancakes! They’re the best in the country!” The girl gloated with a proud smug on her face.

_The…The country? Wh-What does she mean by that? Wh-Where am I?_

“Uh…I…” I tried to ask the same thought I just had, but…

***BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP***

“Crap! I’m going to be late! Well, enjoy the food! And hope to see you around school, too!”

“Sc-School?! W-Wait a sec…”

But it was too late. The girl had ran out the front door of the restaurant, leaving me alone with the food I ordered.

“ _sigh._ She’s gone. And she was so nice, too. I didn’t even get to thank her. Let alone learn her name.”

I then remembered a faint but recent memory that occurred during that fight with those thugs earlier. One of them said a name, and she responded to it. So it could be her name. But what was it again?

_GAH! Come on, Feli! Think! It started with an F, right? What was it?_

“ _Grr…j-just you wait, Futaba! I’ll get my revenge! On you, and this_ _gothic lolita too!_ ” I then remember one of those boys saying something like that. And it gave me a good guess on the mystery girl.

“F…Futaba…th-that’s her name, right? I mean, I don’t remember hearing any other names. _Sigh._ What a nice girl she was. I haven’t received that much kindness from someone in a long time. Well…maybe Amitie. But she’s always like that, so she doesn’t count. Neither does Bal, since he’s a dog. M-My…dog…”

I then started feeling sad that I had to leave Bal behind in order to make this escape in the first place. I know I said that if I ever found happiness again, I would bring him along with me.

But…

…

…I don’t even know where to start for me to find happiness. In fact, I’d be pretty much lying to myself if I said I knew what happiness was. It’s been so long since I felt that way, that it’s starting to become a blur to me.

_Bal…I miss you. I miss you so badly._

I then started feeling tears run down my face. And I quickly wiped them away before anyone noticed.

“I better get out of here before my crying becomes noticeable.” I said to myself. But before I got off the chair I was sitting on, I stared at the food that was in front of me. And my stomach began to growl again.

…

“W-Well…maybe after I eat this.”

I then faced the food again and continued to eat it to my heart’s content.

_Mmmm! So damn good!_

 

About 15 minutes later, I had finished the food and took the hot chocolate with me as I left the restaurant with a full stomach. Not sure when was the last time I had this much food at once, but it sure felt good to be full.

Hopefully, this food will give me enough energy. Because now it was time for me to figure out where the heck am I. This city was so huge. Walking through every part of it will no doubt take me all day. But surely the start of my new life is somewhere in this big place. Because I can’t afford to get another bus ticket.

“Well, here goes nothing.” I said to myself as I finished the last bit of my hot chocolate, threw it in the trash can next to me, and started my trek through this strange new city I ended up in.

A few minutes after I started walking, I’ve noticed a few things about this place. One was there were fewer people about now than early this morning. Didn’t even see any students with that brown uniform around. So it made me think that they were all at school right now.

_Come to think of it, was that Futaba girl wearing that brown uniform? I didn’t get a good look at her. Which kinda sucks._

Another thing I noticed was that this city was really experienced with technology. There was so much of it everywhere. Mainly TVs showing some kind of show on them. It looked like…a girl in a frilly pink dress fighting off some kind of ugly monster with a magic wand of some sorts. There was also a weird-looking creature fighting with her.

It looked really weird to me…but at the same time, I was pulled in to whatever this thing was. I couldn’t stop looking. It was so…

so…

so…

…

…exhilarating.

As I kept watching, the TV I was watching from suddenly cut off. Leaving me disappointed.

“ **What?! Aw, come on! And it was getting to the good part, too!** ” I yelled to basically no one. I then calmed down a bit and turned my back from the TV.

“ _sigh._ Oh, well. Back to exploring this place.”

I continued walking down the street, looking at the tall buildings that surrounded me. At some point, I stopped seeing those tall buildings and now I was seeing average-sized ones. Most of them were houses and stores and such.

I even ended up at some place called a shopping district. It had a whole bunch of stuff for sale. Stuff like handbags, jewelry, toys (of some sorts), but most of it was food. Specifically fruits. They looked really good. And I ended up buying a few apples with the little money I had left.

The salesman there looked at my money and didn’t know what it was supposed to be. I guess this place doesn’t use Credits. Luckily, he still took them. As I guess he felt bad for me.

I left that shopping district place and continued walking down the path I was on while eating one of the apples I bought. It was down to the core and I threw it away in the nearest trash can. And as I was about to get another one…

“Meow.”

“Huh? _Aw, what a cute wittle kitty._ ” I said in a cutesy tone as I crouched down to its eyesight.

“Meow.”

“ _Aw! Does the cutesy wittle kitty want an apple? Okay. I’ll give you one._ ”

I dug into my magic backpack and got an apple to give to the cat in front of me. I watched as it ate the apple in tiny bites and played around with it. it was **_so cute!_** I just to claim it for myself and do a whole bunch of fun stuff with it!

…

_Oh, God. I sound just like Schezo. I think he’s **WAY** more creepy than me. That pervert._

“Meow.”

“ _Oh. All done, wittle kitty? I hope you enjoyed that._ ” I said as I got up from the crouching position.

Well, I tried to.

“ _Meow._ ” The cat won’t let me go.

“Hey, come on. Let me go.”

“ _Meow!_ ”

“I don’t have any more food for you. Let go.”

“ ** _Meow!_** ”

All of a sudden, more cats started showing up and were now surrounding me. I guess they were smelling the extra snacks I had packed before leaving Primp. And since this cat got fed, these other ones want some too.

“Look, you scavengers! You may be smelling the snacks in my backpack, but there’s no way in hell I’m giving them all to you! My well-being is **WAY** more important than a bunch of ally cats!”

“ **MEOW!!!** ”

The cats came charging at me and I had no choice but to use my spells on them. So I brought out my dowsing rods and aimed at the group of cats in front of me.

“ **Horary!** ” I shouted as I shot a blue aura from the rods. It hit a good chunk of the cats making them freeze in place. But there were some still coming after me. So I tried to use the other spell I was trying to master.

_I hope I’m just as lucky with this spell like the last one._

I spawned a big yellow star from each dowsing rod and brought them together to create a giant star. Then shot it at the cats.

“ **Conjunction!** ”

***BOOM***

“ ** _Meow!_** ” As the cats winced in pain, I saw this as my chance to escape. So I placed my dowsing rods in my backpack and made a run for it. The cats chased after me, but were too slow from the recent spell I cast. So I was able to get away.

_This is why I prefer dogs!_

 

From me running from the cats, I ended up at a nearby park. I sat on a nearby bench to try to regain my breath when I felt something hit me on the head. It felt wet and…

_Oh no…_

I looked up to the sky and saw a ton of dark grey clouds covering the once clear blue sky. Not long after, it started to rain. And I was getting drenched the longer I stayed on the bench.

“ **GAH!** ” I ran to the nearest tree and got underneath it to protect myself from the rain. The leaves from said tree were not doing a good job of keeping me dry. So I got my black hoodie and put it on as fast as I could. I then crouched down to my knees…

…and started to cry.

“ ** _*sniff*_** _Great. Just fucking great. I’m lost in this big new city in the rain and I have nowhere else to go. I’m cold, wet, tired…_

***ACHOO!***

_…sick._

_And not to mention alone._

_I clearly didn’t think this through. This was a mistake from the start. Me finding happiness. Bull_ ***ACHOO*** _shit! I can never be happy! Fate won’t allow me to! I’m just gonna give ***sniff*** up and lay here._

_And accept my fate._ ”

As I continued to cry to myself, I stopped feeling the rain hitting my black hoodie. In fact, I was starting to feel no water at all. I then looked up from my hands and an umbrella over my head. I didn’t bring one, so I was curious to see who’s this was.

Then I looked to my left, and got my curiosity answered.

“Hey, there. Need some help?”

“Y-You! Y-You’re the girl from earlier!” I yelled in shock.

“ ***giggle*** Just call me Futaba. Futaba Okazaki.”

_F-Futaba?! S-So that **is** her name! Futaba Okazaki…_

“M-My name’s Feli. F-Feli…K-Kuromi.” I said nervously. Well, partly nervous. I’m also shivering from the cold.

“Well, nice to meet you, Feli Kuromi. Well…officially, I mean.”

Hearing that made me laugh a little. And Futaba noticed.

“Hey, there’s a smile.”

“Come on.”

“Alright, alright.”

We were both laughing at this point. Until I stopped when I thought of something to ask.

“H-Hey, Futaba. H-How’d you know I was here?”

“I had my suspicions when I saw a bunch of cats frozen in place on my way home from school. Luckily, you weren’t that far away.”

“I-I see.”

_So she remembers my spell, huh?_

“So, anyway…ready to go?” Futaba asked me.

“Huh? To where?”

“My house, silly. I can’t leave you here all alone, can I?”

“R-Really?!”

“And I’m not taking no for an answer.”

_Wow. This girl…she’s so kind and caring. Nowhere near as cruel as the others back home._

“O-Okay. L-Let’s go.”

I soon got up and started walking along with Futaba. Sharing her umbrella in the process. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was out of the rain or something, but I started feeling much warmer than I was a few minutes ago. And it felt really nice, too.

***ACHOO!***

“Bless you.”

“Th-Thank you.”

_I really hope I get rid of this cold soon…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it looks like Feli has a new friend. Could this be the start of her new found happiness? Find out in the next chapter. Until then, feel free to review, favorite, and/or follow the story. Thanks for reading. Later.


	4. Act 2-3 Retelling Her Past

The rain had lightened up a bit as I followed Futaba to her house. In my mind, I was still a little shocked that she's taking me there without question. I mean, we only just met a few hours ago. She doesn't know anything about me, and vise-versa.

But still…it really is a nice thing to do for a stranger.

“Not that much longer now. Should be there in about 2-3 minutes.” Futaba said to me.

“Th-Thanks, Futaba. I’m really ***ACHOO*** gr-grateful for you doing this.”

“No problem. That’s what friends are for, right?”

“Fr-Friends?!” I jerked a little after hearing that word.

“What? Are we not friends?”

“No, no, no! It’s not that! It’s just…well…i-it’s kinda been a while since I’ve last had one. Or at least someone to care for me. Which is why I was sitting in the rain when you found me.”

“F-Feli…a-are you a runaway?”

It was kinda hard for me to answer that question, even though it's 100% true. But I don't wanna ruin the first ever friendship I've had since who knows when. So I kept silent while nodding my head yes.

“W-Wow…I’m sorry it had to come to this.”

“It’s okay. one more day there and I would’ve been…n-never mind.”

Oddly enough, Futaba didn’t ask what I was about to say. She just let it go and we continued walking to her house.

It was a nice thing to do…but I’m gonna have to tell her eventually. I can’t keep this a secret for much longer.

“Well. Here we are. Home sweet home.” Futaba said as we stood in front of a house in line with a bunch of other houses. It was a two-story home that had a nice lawn and such. It looked way different from the houses back in Primp.

Come to think of it, everything about this place is different from Primp. Kinda weird.

“Wow. It’s kinda big.”

“Big? Really? This is average size.”

“Average? This place is huge. A lot bigger than my house.”

“Your house doesn’t look like this?”

“No, not really.”

“Hmm…”

***BOOM***

“ **GAH!** The rain’s picking up again. Let’s hurry inside.”

“O-Okay.” I said.

 

“I’m home!”

_Why did she shout that she was home? She could’ve just walked up to whoever’s here and say that._

I was about to walk up the oddly-placed step in front of the door, when…

“Feli, wait. You forgot to take off your shoes.”

“Take off my shoes? Here? You don’t do that in your room?” I asked.

“No. Shoes are taken off and left here.”

“Really?”

“Shouldn’t you already know that?”

“I’ve never heard of such a thing. It’s all new to me.”

“Huh…” Futaba had a confused look on her face.

“In here, Futaba.” A woman’s voice called out.

“Aw, well. It was just an accident. Come on, you can meet my family. They’re really nice.”

“Um…okay.”

I followed Futaba into what looked like the living room, dining room, and kitchen all in the same area. With the kitchen being really tiny. Looking like it could only fit one person at a time.

Inside the multi-room area (more specifically, the dining room part), there sat three people. A man with short, shaggy, black hair. A woman with long brown hair (nearly the identical color to Futaba's). And a boy with similar hair to the man.

I was no doubt looking at Futaba’s family. They look so…so…what’s the word I’m looking for…normal. It was a rare sight for me, as the only family I’ve ever had was Bal.

_Better than no one, right?_

“Welcome home, Futaba. Who’s your friend?” The man asked.

“Uh, well…I…”

“This is my friend, Feli Kuromi. She and I just met today and I invited her over. She’s a bit shy, though.” Futaba said for me.

“I see. Well, it’s nice to meet you, Feli. We’re Futaba’s parents, Satoshi and Miki. And this is our son and Futaba’s younger brother, Yuuta.”

“H-Hello. N-Nice to meet you all.” I said nervously.

I then felt a weird disturbance nearby. I thought it was a crypted spirit attracted to one of my charms in my backpack. But then I realized it was just Futaba's brother, staring at me with a creepy look on his face. It was unnerving to look at, and I tried to look away from him.

“Hey! Quit staring, pervert!” Futaba yelled at him.

“I wasn’t staring! I was just spaced out!”

“Oh, really? Then how come your nose is bleeding?”

Yuuta took a swipe under his nose and saw that he was, in fact, bleeding from his nose.

“Wh-what, this? Th-This is just…uh…a-allergies! Yeah, that’s it! Just allergies!”

“ _Right…_ ” It was clear that Futaba didn’t believe him.

“Sorry about that, Feli. Yuuta’s just at that age where he’s interested in girls and whatnot. He even has his own little porno collection.” Miki said.

_Porno collection?_

“Mom! No one needs to know that!” Yuuta whined.

“I-I see.” Was all I said.

“A-Anyway…” Satoshi tried to turn the conversation another direction. “Does your family know you’ll be staying here for the night, Feli?”

That’s when I started feeling sadder than earlier and looked down to the floor while holding my right arm.

“I-I…uh…d-don’t…r-really have one.” I said, nearly about to cry.

“Oh, dear. Did I offend?”

“N-No, it’s not…wh-what I mean is…”

“Mom. Dad. You see the thing is…Feli ran away from home.” Futaba said.

“Oh dear.” Miki said.

“What made you do that?” Satoshi asked.

I looked over at Futaba and she held my hand as a sign of she’s got my back on this. Even though she doesn’t know why I ran away in the first place.

“W-Well…I-I ran away because…I-I…I was…b-being abused…a-and neglected.”

“Oh my…” Miki said with a shocked gasp.

“No way…” Yuuta said, also sounding shocked.

“Feli, is that true?” Futaba asked me.

"Y-Yeah. It's true. My stepmother would beat me every day and I would have to steal money and food from her in order to survive. I rarely left my room. And if I did, I would climb down my bedroom window to get to places.”

“How come you didn’t tell anyone? What about your friends?”

“Th-That’s another reason. The day before, I found out in the worst way possible that they feared and hated me. I heard them talk about me and say mean things. “Creepy she-devil”, “Psychotic freak”, “Brain damaged”, “Mental”, I’ve heard it all in one sitting. And it broke me. So last night I ran away from all of it and came to this place to hopefully start anew. But so far, I’ve almost gotten beaten up, attacked by cats, and I was sitting in the rain shivering from the cold and ***ACHOO*** c-caught one too. I was lucky enough that Futaba found me in a park nearby. Not sure how long I’ve would’ve lasted if I stayed there.”

“Feli…” Futaba sounded really sad for me. “Mom! Dad! We have to let Feli stay here! It wouldn’t be right to send her back out there the next day!”

“We feel your concerns, dear. But we really don’t know anything about her or where she came from. It’ll be like entering a stranger into our home.” Satoshi said.

“Come on, Dad! I know you’re only trying to protect us, but Feli’s been through literal hell for most of her life! She’s so miserable now because of it! I’ve already said she’s my friend, and now I’m saying that I won’t turn my back on her!”

“She sounds serious, dear.” Miki said.

“Come on, Dad. You can’t expect her to go back to the life she had. Let her stay.” Yuuta added.

“Hmm…”

The room went silent at this point. I was worried that I would be out in the street again. I don't have any more Credits and I'm running out of snacks to eat. I won't be able to survive much longer.

_Maybe doing this was a bad idea after all…_

“Alright. I understand.” Satoshi broke the silence.

“Huh? Understand what?” Miki asked.

“I mean, Feli can stay with us.”

“ **R-Really?!** ” Futaba and I shouted in shock.

"You're right, dear. It wouldn't be right to send her back out there. Especially after what she went through. But Feli, you won't be sitting around all day. You'll have to go to school."

“O-Of course. Anything.” I said.

“Does this mean we can finally get some help in the restaurant?” Yuuta asked.

“The…restaurant?” I sounded confused.

“Oh, yeah. About that. Remember earlier today when I took you inside that restaurant?” Futaba asked me.

“Yeah…”

“Well…our family owns that restaurant!”

“W-Wait, really?!”

“Yep! We’re known for having the best pancakes in the whole country! It’s a family secret recipe, even!”

“Wow. No wonder they tasted so good.”

“Ah, so you were the girl Futaba was talking about earlier? How you two fought off those trouble-making high school boys.” Miki said.

“W-Well…actually, Futaba really had to rescue me from that. I didn’t do much.”

“Nonsense, Feli. You helped me out when I got blindsided when one of them grabbed me out of nowhere. You’re a hero, you know that?” Futaba said with a smile.

“A…A-A hero?”

“Well, anyone who was willing to rescue my daughter deserves to be treated as such. Therefore…welcome home, Feli.” Satoshi said.

I felt tears forming in my eyes. I didn't think this would happen to me, but I…I have a new place to call home. With someone I can call a friend and people I can call a family. Having all of these things giving to me all at once nearly made me pass out in pure joy.

But luckily, I didn’t.

“Th…

“Th…

“Tha…

“ **THANK YOU VERY MU…*BANG*** _Ow…_ ” I tried to do a bow to show my gratitude. Something I remembered Lidelle doing whenever something like this happened to her. But unlike her, I failed. As I ended up hitting my head on the table in front of me.

“F-Feli, are you alright?” Futaba asked me.

“Y-Yeah. I-I’m fine. I think.” I said as I was rubbing my head.

“Well, in a response to your statement…you’re very welcome, Feli.” Satoshi said with a smile.

“Now, with that out of the way, let’s dig in. You like fish, Feli?” Miki asked me.

“Uh…not really. I kinda had a bad experience with them.”

_Especially since one tried to use my dress as a hiding spot. Damn perverted fish._

“Aw, well. There’s other stuff to eat. Help yourself.”

“Thank you…Mrs. Okazaki.”

“Oh, please. Call me Miki.”

“And call me Satoshi.”

“You can call me Yuuta.”

"Or Pervert. Whichever's more appropriate at the given time." Futaba added.

“ **H-Hey!** ”

“ ***giggle*** Will do.” I said as I sat down next to Futaba and ate my first dinner with a family since a long ass time ago.

 

After dinner, I was able to take a bath without having to monitor how long I have to be in there. Surprisingly, that woman formally known as my stepmother was a real bitch when it came to saving water.

Probably so that she could have more money to not spend on me.

I was now inside Futaba’s room sitting on something called a…f…futon? It was something I’ve never heard of, nor have I ever seen before. Much like everything else I’ve seen today.

“Wow! Dinner was **_SO_** good! It’s been so long since I had a meal that big!”

“ ***giggle*** Glad you liked it.” Futaba said to me. “Mom’s always been a good cook. I can cook, too. But I’m nowhere as good as her.”

“I see. I’m not good at it. Never made anything myself before. Which is why I was so shocked when I saw all that food. Some I’ve never seen before. It was impressive.”

“Huh? You mean you’ve never seen chicken before?”

“Nope.”

“Or vegetables?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Not even rice?”

“Was that the white stuff in that pink bowl?”

Futaba looked at me with a confused but curious look on her face. She kept staring at me with her brown eyes, and I was starting to get creeped out.

“What?” I asked.

“Feli…what else was new to you today?”

“Where’s this coming from?”

“Just answer it, please.”

“Okay, okay.” I went silent for a bit while trying to remember what I saw today.

“Well…I remember seeing really tall buildings, a rail for like a train or something, men and women in business suits, a TV that showed a girl in a frilly pink dress fighting off some kind of ugly monster with a magic wand of some sorts…”

“Wait, did this girl have a cute little creature fighting with her?” Futaba asked.

“Now that I think about it…yeah, she did.”

“Oh my God, that’s my favorite anime!”

“You’re favorite what?”

“Um…I’ll explain later. Anything else you remember seeing?”

“Well…I remember going to this place called a shopping district. I bought some apples from a merchant there, but he looked confused with the Credits I had.”

“Credits? You didn’t have any Yen?”

“What’s a Yen?”

“It’s what we use for money in Japan.”

“Ja…pan? Where’s that?”

The room went silent for a bit.

“Feli…you said you ran away yesterday, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Judging by that, there’s no way anyone could come to Japan in less than a day. But…you’re here. What’s the name of the place you came from?”

“Primp Town.”

“Primp Town? Never heard of that. In fact, I don’t think that place exists here…”

“Wait! Doesn’t exists here?! What does that mean?!” I started to panic.

“Feli. I think it means… **that you’re from a different world!** ”

“ **A-A different world?! H-How did that happen?! All I remember is taking the bus out of Primp!** ”

We both stared at each other with nothing but looks of confusion and shock. It was hard to believe that somehow I came to a different world in an attempt to escape the life I was in. I wasn’t that powerful to do such a thing, nor did I know a charm that can do that.

_Just what the hell happened on that bus?_

“Well, new world or not, I’m glad you’re here, Feli. And I promise, things will only get better from here on out.” Futaba said to me. That smile of hers was so reassuring, that I was able to calm down myself.

“Thanks, Futaba. That really means a lot.” I said with a smile.

“Well, we should be heading to bed now. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day, you know.”

“Right. I remember. Night, Futaba.”

“Night, Feli.”

Futaba turned off the lights and the room was shrouded with silence. It took me a while to fall asleep. Mostly because I didn't have to cry in order to do so. But there was this one part in my mind that was the cause of it. A promise I made to someone. One that will hopefully come true.

_Don’t worry, Bal. We’ll be together again soon._

 

 

**_End of Act 2_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here’s Act 2 complete. One more and this story’s done, right?
> 
> Well…no. Not anymore, I mean. Because of me know having an idea on where to take this story, the amount of acts has been increased from 3 to 6. I got nice things coming to this story and three wasn’t going to be enough to fit it all. 
> 
> So keep an eye out for the first part of Act 3. Coming soon.


	5. Act 3-1 Getting Inspected

“ _Feli…Feli…_ ”

***quiet weak moan***

“ _Feli…time to wake up._ ”

“ _H…Huh?_ Oh. Hey, Futaba. Morning already?” I asked as I was trying to fully wake up.

“Yep, it is. You were sound asleep, too.” Futaba then went silent for a bit. “Wait. Was this…the first time you’ve had a peaceful sleep in a while?”

**_*sigh*_ ** _I knew she was going to ask that._

“Y…Yeah. It was.” I said shamefully.

“N-Nothing wrong with that. I’m actually glad you had one. It just shows that your life is already getting better.”

I thought about those words that Futaba just said to me…and she’s right. It may be at a slow pace, but my life is starting to get better. Granted, one peaceful night’s sleep isn’t enough for me to fully accept it. but it’s a good point to start off on.

“Y-Yeah. I-I guess you’re right. Thanks, Futaba.” I said.

“Hey, no problem, Feli. That’s what friends are for. We help each other out in a time of need.”

“ ***giggle*** Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

“See? You even smiled. That’s even more evidence that you’re getting better.”

I laughed a bit more as I felt myself smiling even more. I truly was getting happier. At a slow rate, but it counts.

“Now, let’s hurry up and get dressed.”

“Huh? Wait, what are we doing again?” I asked.

“Did you forget already? We’re all going to the inspector’s office to see if we can make you a part of our family.”

“That’s a thing?”

“Yeah. It’s a thing. You kinda need to have one in order to go to school here. Pretty sure it’s the same thing in your world, right?”

“I see.”

_Even though the only parent I’ve ever known was Amitie’s mom. And from that experience, I can tell that Amitie doesn’t rely on her much._

“So how long would that take?” I asked.

“Not sure. It really depends on how busy the place is. A couple hours at least.”

“A couple hours?! Do a lot of people mysteriously come here from a different world and have to do the same thing I’m doing?!”

“Uh…no. They just come here by plane.”

“O-Oh. Right.”

“But look on the bright side, Feli. Once this is done, we’ll be able to go to school together.”

“Y-Yeah. That’s true. Can’t wait for that.”

“Right? Now let’s get changed. Mom and Dad are waiting downstairs.” Futaba said before starting to change by taking off her shirt. “Hey, now that I think about it, do you have enough clothes with you?”

“…”

“Feli?”

“…”

“Hey. You okay?”

I couldn’t really answer Futaba’s questions because of something that was in my sights. It was so mesmerizing, that I almost cried. Not because of beauty. But because of pure envy.

_Th-They’re huge!_

Futaba didn’t understand my behavior at first. But when I started blushing and looked down a little, it finally clicked for her.

“A-Aw, crap! F-Feli! I-I didn’t mean to make you feel self-conscious like that!” She panicked as she frantically went to find a bra to put on.

“N-No. I-It’s okay, Futaba.” I said, still feeling a bit envious. “I’ve always been this size. Ever since I was 12.”

“Since you were 12? So that makes you…”

“I’m 15 now.”

“O-Oh. I see.”

"I've tried everything. Looking up, practicing, and performing a bunch of body changing charms. But none of them worked. I think it's time to accept the fact that I'm done growing."

“Aw come on, Feli. You can’t be done yet. Maybe you’re having a growth spurt.”

“No offense, Futaba. But I **HIGHLY** doubt there’s such thing as a 3-year-long growth spurt.”

“Oh, yeah. I guess that doesn’t make sense.”

“But like I said, I’m okay looking like this. I may not have big breasts, or…a size to be even qualified to be called breasts, but it’s who I am. And accepting this is a first step to feeling better about life again. So it’s a start.”

“I see. Well, good for you, Feli.” Futaba said while giving me a thumbs up. revealing her giant chest again.

“B-But…I-I would appreciate it if you were more cautious about showing your breasts like that.” I started blushing again.

“R-Right. Sorry.”

“Girls. Are you two ready?” I heard Miki call out to us.

“About five more minutes, Mom.”

“Please hurry. The line is sure to get long quickly.”

“Okay.”

I dug into my backpack and got out the clothes that I wore yesterday. They were still a little wet from the rain but were still wearable. As if I had a choice of wearing something else, anyway.

As I was about to take off my shirt, however…

“Wait, Feli. Before you do that, I gotta do something first.” Futaba said.

“Huh? Like what?” I was confused.

Futaba then quietly walked up to the bedroom door and grabbed the doorknob. She gestured me to keep quiet before she, for whatever reason, opened the door as fast and hard as she can, pushing it outwards.

“Ow!” I then heard a voice on the other side.

“I knew it! you just don’t learn do you, pervert?” Apparently, Futaba’s younger brother Yuuta was in front of the door. My guess was that he was trying to peak at us. But the more I thought about it, it kinda occurred to me…

_How the hell was he supposed to see anything with the door closed?_

“Okay. Okay. I’m leaving. Just let go of me.” Yuuta whined before he walked off rubbing his ear. I didn’t pay attention to what Futaba did to him. So I didn’t get why he was doing that.

“ ** _*sigh*_** Perverted idiot.” Futaba said.

“Does he…do that a lot?” I asked.

“Yeah. But I guess I can sympathize with him. He is at that age.”

“That age?”

“Well, he is 14. And boys at that age tend to…” Futaba then stopped talking once she saw how confused I was.

“…N-Never mind. Let’s just get ready.”

“Um…okay?” I didn’t really question it much after that. I just went on and began to change.

 

After we have gotten ready, we met up with the others and got in the car to go to…wherever this inspector’s office is. Well…okay, it wasn’t that simple. I was honestly scared to get in the car. They weren’t really a thing in Primp and I’ve these things on TV. I didn’t really know what will happen if I got in the thing. But after some convincing from Futaba and Yuuta, I eventually got inside. And it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

“Geez, Feli. I didn’t think you would be afraid of riding a car. Let alone, getting in one.” Yuuta said.

“W-Well…i-it’s kinda complicated.” I answered.

“Huh?”

“What do you mean by that, Feli?” Satoshi asked as he was driving the car. Me and Futaba looked at each other with some bit of concern before answering that question.

“H-Hey…Dad, Mom. If I tell you this, would we have to tell the inspector too?” Futaba asked.

“Well, it depends on what you’re about to tell us, sweetie.” Miki said. “Why? It isn’t bad, is it?”

“No, no, no. It’s not bad. It’s more like…something me and Feli realized last night.”

“Realized?” Satoshi asked.

“Well…apparently, Feli is from a different world.”

“Huh?” It sounded like no one in the car understood what was just said.

“You mean like an alien?” Yuuta asked me.

"Wh-What? No. When I ran away two nights ago, I got on the bus from a place called Primp Town. Then the next day, I ended up here. I didn't recognize a single thing here. And it wasn't until last night that I realized that I had somehow traveled to another world through means of bus travel. As weird as it sounds."

“I see…well, I supposed that we can leave that out.” Satoshi said.

“Huh? W-Wait, really?”

“Well, it’s not like they’re going to believe us when we say that you came from a different world, Feli.”

…

…

“Oh, yeah. That might sound weird in this world.” I said after thinking about it.

“So then what do we tell them?” Futaba asked.

“Easy.” Miki said. “We just tell them what we knew before. That Feli was being treated badly by her stepmother and she ran away because she felt unsafe.”

“Mom, it can’t be that easy.” Yuuta said.

“ ** _*giggle*_** You’ll see, dear.”

 

We got to this inspector's office at this really huge building. There were lots of people there. So I understood when Futaba said that we would be here for a couple of hours.

And a couple hours it did take. It was sometime between 11 in the morning and noon when we finally got called into the office. I’d admit, I was nervous as hell. what if this whole thing didn’t work and I’ll be back on the street again? Sure, I’ve only been with the Okazakis for not even a day. And I still have to get used to these new things this world seems to have. But anything would be better than to be out there again. I don’t want to run into those cats again. Or worse, those boys from before.

“ _Don’t worry. It’ll be fine._ ” Futaba whispered to me. It was reassuring, yes. But it didn’t exactly put me at ease completely.

“Okay, Ms.…Feli Kuromi.” The inspector began talking. “It says here that…oh my. You were being abused and neglected by your stepmother? And ran away to escape it all?”

“ _Y-Yes. Th-That’s it._ ” I almost cried after being reminded of that horrible life I lived in for so long. But I managed to hold it in. Somehow.

“I see. And you were found by a…Futaba Okazaki?”

"Y-Yes, ma'am." Futaba said. "I actually encountered her twice that day. The first time was in front of our family restaurant when she was being harassed by these three boys. I saved her and even gave her some food since she was hungry. Then I went off to school, thinking that I would see her there. But I didn't. In fact, it wasn't until after school when I was heading home that I saw her again. This time, she crying underneath a tree. Trying to shield herself from the rain. It was then that I decided to bring her home with me and my family. But that's when we learned of her past. And I begged my parents to let her stay with us."

“I see now. And you two are okay with this?” The inspector then asked Satoshi and Miki.

“Well, it took some convincing at first. But we eventually agreed to it.” Satoshi answered.

“I see.” The inspector continued writing on her clipboard as I sat there continued to be a nervous wreck. “Well…normally, a reason like this won’t be enough for this to happen…”

_Aw, damnit. I’m going back to the streets, am I?_

“But…”

“But what?” Futaba asked.

“But…I guess I can let this one slide.” The inspector said with a wink.

“W-Wait! Really?!”

“Yes, indeed. Congratulations, Feli. I hope you enjoy your new family.”

“You hear that, Feli?! You got approved!”

I felt those same tears from before come back to me. Only this time, they were harder than last time. And also…they were tears of happiness. Something I haven’t had in over a decade. Before I said that I finally had an actual family, but now that it's official…I felt happier than I ever thought that was possible. Which was, before coming to this world, wasn't much at all. I'm so glad this happened to me.

“ _Th…Th-Thank you. M-Ms. Inspector Lady._ ” I said. Now with a mix of joy and nervousness.

“Anytime, Feli. I do hope you get better.”

“ _Y…Yeah._ ”

 

We not long after exited the building and were about to get in that car thing again when Futaba held my hand out of nowhere.

"Hey, guys. You can go on ahead. I want to walk around with Feli a bit." She said.

“Oh? You’re gonna show her around the city, Futaba?” Miki asked.

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Can I come with you guys?” Yuuta asked.

"No. It's a girl thing. And you'll just perverse your way through the entire day."

“ **N-No, I won’t!** ”

"Just don't be too long, you two." Miki said.

“Okay, Mom.”

As the three drove off, I was kinda curious about what we were doing next. Did she really mean that it was a girl thing? If so, what does walking around have to do with it?

“Uh…Futaba? Where are we going?” I asked.

“ ** _*giggle*_** It’s a secret.” Was she said before pulling me by my hand to who knows where.

I can only hope it’s not weird.

 

***MEANWHILE, BACK IN PRIMP…***

 

“Thanks for waiting, Sig.” I said as I walked outside to meet him.

…

“Sig?”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah. No problem, Ammy.” Sig said. He had a blank stare on his face once I came out my house. And I think I know why.

It’s no doubt because of the neat-o outfit I’m wearing. A white t-shirt with a rainbow-like design on it underneath a pink sweater that’s really fluffy and comfy, a cute dark grey skirt that I haven’t worn yet, and a pair of pink snow boots that I had. It was something new and completely different from what I usually wear. Something was even different with my head.

“H-Hey, Ammy. You’re not wearing your hat.” Sig pointed out.

It's true. I wasn't wearing it at all. Instead, it was a hairpin in the shape and style of a pink flower. I don't know why, but I've gotten into the color pink recently. It makes me feel cute.

“Yeah. I thought I’d try something different. Do you like it?” I asked.

Sig took a while to answer, which was to be expected of him. But what wasn’t was the fact that he was blushing a little while trying to think of an answer. It was so funny and cute.

"Y-Yeah. It suits you, Ammy." He finally said. I started blushing on my own. Getting excited by the response he gave me. But then I calmed down a bit. Mainly because we have something important to do right now.

“A-Anyway. Let’s go meet up with Lidelle and Bal.” I said.

“Okay.” Sig responded.

We went to the edge of town where the bus station is usually is. There we saw Lidelle, wearing the same outfit she wore earlier today. But, for some reason, I didn’t see Baldanders anywhere. Kinda odd, since we’re trying to help him find Feli.

“Hello, Amitie. You brought Sig with you?” Lidelle asked.”

“Yeah. But he’s only seeing us off.” I answered. “Hey, where’s Bal? Didn’t he come with you?”

“Yes. He did.”

“Then how…”

“ _ARF ARF!_ ”

…

“Huh?”

I saw Lidelle's backpack shaking a little as it made a barking noise. It creeped me out a little. But once I recognized the bark, it made me more creeped out. With an added bonus of being confused.

“Wait. Is Bal… ** _inside_ your backpack?!** ” I asked.

“Well, yes. But there’s a reason for this. You see, the place we’re going won’t take kindly to a dog Bal’s size. So, we’ll have to keep him hidden until we find Feli.”

“I see. So…where are we going, anyway?”

“Well, I believe that Feli…went to a different world.”

“ **W-Woah! A-A different world?!** ”

“ **ARF?!** ” Baldanders reacted inside the bag.

“How’d that happen?” Sig asked. Sounding unamused as usual.

“It’s something that has to do with a solar Eclipses. Every night for 7 ½ minutes, a portal to a completely different world opens up from the tunnel nearby. It only works at night, during that time limit. And only buses can go through it.”

“Woah.”

“Did Feli knew about this?” I asked.

“I highly doubt it. She probably thought she was going to the neighboring town. But I bet she ended up in the other world.”

“Lidelle…how do you know all this?”

“Well…”

Before she could answer that, the bus pulled up and the driver had opened the doors to let us in. He then suddenly grew a smile once he saw who was there.

“Ah. Hello, Lidelle. Making another visit?”

“Yes sir, Mr. Kawasaki.” Lidelle said with a bow.

_Kawa-what now? How does Lidelle know this guy?_

“I see. And you’re bringing friends this time?”

“Yes, indeed. This is my friend, Amitie. I’m helping her do something really important.”

“Uh…hello.” I said.

“Nice to meet you.” The driver said with a tip of his hat.

“So. Are you ready to go, Amitie?” Lidelle asked me.

“Uh…I guess.” I was still confused by this whole thing, but I was more than ready to go on this journey. “We’ll be back soon, okay Sig? Don’t tell anyone where we went.”

“I’m sure there’s a really cool bug from the other world that we can bring to you as thanks.” Lidelle added.

“Yay.” Sig sounded excited, but you couldn’t tell from the look on his face.

Lidelle and I got on the bus and the doors shut behind us. We both waved Sig goodbye as the bus drove off down the road. Not long after, Lidelle and I got to talking again.

That’s when she told me something I didn’t think I would hear.

“Hey, Amitie…”

“Yeah, Lidelle?”

“About your question earlier. About how I know about this…do you still want to know?”

I had to think about it for a second. But I was positive that I wanted to know what she knew.

“Yeah. I do.” I said.

“Okay. Well…that part about the solar eclipses. I actually learned it from Lemres.”

“What?! From Lemres?!”

“Yes. In fact, Lemres is actually in this other world.”

“ **What?! Get really real!** ”

“I am. And it’s all true.”

I had to take some time to calm down from hearing that news. To think that Lemres knew how to get to a different world, and that he’s been there this whole time. He’s more powerful than I thought.

“S-So…why is Lemres in this other world?” I asked.

Lidelle looked a bit nervous to tell me that answer. But she soon gained enough courage to tell me.

“Well, you see…he’s actually on a secret mission.”

“Huh? A secret mission?”

“Yes. A-And, uh…i-it actually relates to Feli.”

“Related to Feli? How?”

“Well…let me whisper it to you.”

“Um…okay.”

I got closer and Lidelle whispered into my ear what this secret mission is. When I hear it all, I couldn’t believe it. My entire mind was completely blown, and I had nothing but total shock.

“ **WHAT?! YOU MEAN HE’S TRYING TO FIND HER RE-** ”

“Shh! Not so loud!” Lidelle covered my mouth in a panic.

“Everything okay back there, girls?” The driver asked.

“We’re fine, Mr. Kawasaki. We’re just talking.”

“Okay, then. Just keep it down a little. It is late at night.”

“Yes, sir.”

During that time, I was able to calm down from hearing that secret Lidelle told me.

“Woah. I…I just can’t believe it. How Lemres would do such a thing. Just for Feli. Does he know that she ran away? To this other world?”

"No. He doesn't. Which is why we need to find him first before he and Feli run into each other. Or else the secret mission is ruined."

“Wow. Okay. I understand now why you wanted to come along with us, Lidelle.”

“Yes. What Lemres is doing is really nice of him. I just hope Feli will like it.”

“Yeah. I really do hope so, too.”

“But for now, we should get some sleep. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

_A lot of ground to cover?_

“Hey, Lidelle. Just how big is this other world?”

I didn't get a response. Lidelle had fallen asleep on the chair and was long gone too. Seeing this made me sleepy as well. So I decided to take her advice and get some shut-eye.

“ ** _*yawn*_** _I guess I’ll find out in the morning._ ” I said. Before closing my eyes and finally falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, Act 3 begins. As Feli starts to be part of the Okazaki Family, Amitie, Lidelle, and Baldanders being their search on finding her. It’s only a matter of time before one of these outcomes comes true. Feel free to review, favorite, and/or follow the story. Thanks for reading. Later.


	6. Act 3-2 Friends & Feelings

“Come on, Futaba. Just tell me where it is that we’re going.”

“Just be a little patient, Feli. It’s just up ahead.”

We were still walking along the sidewalk of this world Futaba calls “Japan” as she was taking me to some kind of surprise. As we were doing so, I looked around this place more. As I’m didn’t do much looking the first time.

It was **WAY** different from how Primp is. By looks, and size.

“Wow. This place is really big.” I said.

“Yeah, it is. It’s one of the biggest cities in this world.” Futaba responded.

“Biggest city? This world is a city?”

“Well, no. You see, this city is actually called Tokyo. And it’s the biggest city in Japan, a county in this world.”

“W-Wait. Sl-Slow down a bit. Am I in Tokyo, or Japan?”

“Both.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Maybe it’s best if you heard it from someone else. Anyway, we’re here.”

“Huh?”

We were now standing in front of the entrance of a really big building. The entrance itself was a wall with two big black gates on each side. And the building was huge. It was brownish in color, and had a bunch of windows all around. I've never seen a place such as this before in my life. I had no idea what it could be. Until I heard a chime of some sorts. Only then, did I had a guess on what this place is.

“Is this…a school?” I asked.

“Yep. Specifically, this is my school.”

“Wh-What?! Th-This is **YOUR** school?!”

Futaba started laughing at my reaction. “Yep. Good ol’ Haranishi High School. And soon, this will be your school too.”

“W-Wait, what?!”

“Hey! Futaba!”

I then saw three other girls running up towards us. One girl had long black hair and orange eyes. Another girl had cherry-colored eyes and short light-brown-ish hair with one stand sticking out at the top. And the last one had a mix of turquoise and light green hair tied up in a weird-looking ponytail. It made it look like the top of a palmtree. And her eyes were also colored to be turquoise. I guess that’s her thing.

“Hey, guys.” Futaba greeted them all.

“We missed ya in classes today. Where were you?” The light-brown haired girl asked.

“Yeah, sorry. I was kinda busy today.”

“Busy with what? Binge-watching anime again?” The black-haired girl asked.

“N-No! I was doing something important. I was helping out a friend.”

“A friend?” All three asked. Then they noticed me trying to hide behind Futaba.

“ ***gasp*** Oh my God! Is this the girl you were talking about yesterday, Futaba?!” The palmtree-haired girl squealed with joy. “She’s so cute!”

_C-Cute? M-Me? Th-That’s the first time someone’s called me that!_

“Yep. This is her.” Futaba said as she grabbed my hand to pull me from behind her. “This is my friend. Feli Kuromi.”

“Uh…h-hi.” I said nervously.

“Don’t be nervous, Feli. These are my friends.”

“Indeed, we are.” The black-haired girl added. “My name is Hinata Moriyama.”

“My name’s Naoko Araki. Nice to meet you, Feli.” The light-brown haired girl said.

“Hiya! I’m Rin Sugihara! And I really meant it when I said that you’re cute, Feli!” The palmtree-haired girl cheered.

“Uh…th-thanks?”

“Sorry about Rin. She can be a bit hyper.” Futaba said.

“A bit?” Naoko joked.

“ _Hey! Naoko!_ ” Rin whined.

“So if you were helping Feli this whole time, why’d you come here at the end of the school day?” Hinata asked.

“I was just showing her the school she’ll be going to starting next week.”

“Really?! She’s coming to our school?!” Rin asked.

“W-Wait! What do you mean by that?” I asked.

"Well…while you weren't paying attention, Mom and I filled out an application for you to start attending this school. Once you got approved, it got cleared. So you start on Monday. Isn't that great?"

…

“Y…Yeah.” I said after thinking about it. “But I wish you would’ve told me about it, though.”

“Sorry. I wanted to keep it a surprise until now.”

“Wait, approved? Approved for what?” Hinata asked.

I then looked over at Futaba. Wondering on what we should do now. She then just smiled at me while holding my hand, letting me know that it was going to be alright.

I was starting to get too used to it. but I can't help it. Having someone that cared for me after so long…it was the best thing that happened to me. I feel grateful for everything Futaba's done for me. Even though I've only been in this strange new world for a day at this point.

"Guys. There's something you need to know about Feli." Futaba started talking. "But I can't tell you here. How's about we go down to the shopping mall and I'll you there?"

The three girls didn’t really understand why this request was made, but they didn’t question it either.

“Sure, Futaba.” Hinata said.

“Whatever works best.” Naoko added.

“Plus, we can get some food!” Rin cheered.

“It’s your turn to pay, Rin.” Futaba said.

“B-But… _aw, damnit._ ” She pouted.

“H…Hey, Futaba.” I asked her.

“Yeah, Feli?”

“Wh-What’s a… _shopping mall_?”

…

…

…

…

“Y…You’re kidding?” Where the only words these four girls said to me on that topic.

_Why do they look so shocked?_

 

We eventually made it to this shopping mall place that they were talking about. Looking back at it, the building itself looks familiar.

“Ringing any bells, Feli?” Futaba asked me.

“You know, I think I passed this place up when I first came here.”

“First came here?” Hinata asked. “Feli, are you a foreigner?”

"Ooh! A foreigner! We don't get many of those!" Rin cheered.

“Uh…what’s a foreigner?”

…

…

…

…

“Let’s just find the food court so we can explain this already.” Futaba said with an exasperated look on her face.

“What’s a-”

“Feli, please don’t. Just please.”

“What? What did I do?”

We found this food court place and picked out something for us to eat (so that's what it is). Which was good timing, because I haven't eaten anything yet and we out doing stuff most of the day.

_I guess this world doesn’t know what a break is._

Once we were comfortable enough, Futaba then started to explain everything that happened to me. And I mean **_everything_**. She didn’t skip anything over. Though I wish she did. Being reminded of all those things…

**_*sniff*_ **

…Is starting to hurt again.

“No way…” Hinata said.

“Holy crap…” Naoko said.

“Ah, geez. That’s horrible.” Rin said. Surprisingly, in a normal volume of voice.

“Yeah. And since then, Feli’s been living with me. We were at the inspector’s office and it became official.” Futaba said.

“I see. I think I get it now.” Naoko said. “But really, Feli. Why didn’t you say anything to the police or something?”

"W-Well…I…" I couldn't talk right. More like, not at all. I felt my body shaking and tears run down my eyes at a rapid pace.

I know that I need to somehow get rid of this constant fear that lives inside me…

But…

At the same time…

“ _I…I didn’t want to._ ” I whispered quietly.

“Huh? I didn’t quite get that.” Naoko said.

“ _I…didn’t want to._ ” I whispered again.

“You what?” Hinata asked.

My shaking became more intense. And my tears became heavier. All of them staring at me like this, waiting for me to answer why I accepted all of this hate from everyone…

_It’s…_

_It’s all…_

_It’s all just…_

…

…

“ **WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!** " I finally couldn't hold it in anymore and started crying right in front of everyone. Which got them scared.

“F-Feli! A-Are you okay?!” Futaba asked.

“ **NO! I’M NOT OKAY!** ” I shouted. But after realizing who I was yelling at, I calmed down a little ( but not much) and tried talking normally.

“I’m sorry! But the truth is…I never wanted to tell anyone! All those times I would spend alone in my closet crying my eyes out…those were the only times where I felt safe!

The only times I felt secure!

The only times I felt happy!

But I just had to come out that closet that day! Avoid my abusive stepmother who would’ve no doubt beat me for sneaking out! Then to find out that I’m the most hated person in town! With everyone saying those hurtful things about me!

And worse of all…Lemres, my one true love, ditched me without saying a word! Leaving me trapped inside the constant spiral of hellish torment!”

At first, I thought just hearing about what had happened to me was torture. But…

…me actually talking about it…

…to other people, no less…

It was too much. **It was too damn much!**

“ **WAAAA! WHAT THE FUCK WAS I THINKING?! DID I SERIOUSLY THOUGHT RUNNING AWAY WOULD SOLVE ALL MY PROBLEMS?! I’M SUCH A GODDAMN IDIOT FOR THINKING THAT I COULD BE HAPPY AGAIN!**

**USELESS!**

**SCUM!**

**PATHETIC!**

**I SHOULD’VE STABBED MYSELF WITH THAT KNIFE  WHEN I HAD THE FUCKING CHANCE! I’M DONE WITH THIS ENDLESS SUFFERING THAT SURROUNDS ME CONSTANTLY!**

**I WANT TO DIE!!!** ”

***SLAP***

I then felt a huge and painful slap across my face. I looked up and saw that the slap came from Futaba. Her eyes were all red and swollen from crying as hard as me. But she also looked mad as hell.

“ **NO! STOP IT! STOP SAYING ALL THAT BULLSHIT! IT’S NOT TRUE!** ” She shouted at me.

“ **WHAT DO YOU KNOW?! YOU HAVEN’T BEEN THROUGH THE HELL I’VE BEEN THROUGH!** ” I yelled back.

“ **Maybe I haven’t! But I do know that what you just said was nothing but lies!** ”

“ **How, Futaba?! How was ANY of that just lies?! I meant every word of it! Especially the last part! I DON’T WANT TO LIVE ANYMORE!!!** ”

“ **Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!** ”

“ **WILL THE BOTH OF YOU JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY?! YOU’RE SCARING EVERYONE! JUST STOP!!!** ” Rin shouted out of the blue. Which made the rest of us look at her with a little fear inside.

“I…I’m sorry.” She then said.

“N-No, Rin. You’re right. Yelling’s not going to solve anything.” Futaba said.

“Y-Yeah…” I said quietly.

“Feli. What I meant to say is…you’re wrong because we met each other. When you saved me from those thugs yesterday…and I gave you that free breakfast as a sign of gratitude, I thought you were a girl from school that I would see in the halls sometimes. But when I got to school that morning…and didn’t see you there at all, I got worried. So when school ended, I went out and looked for you. And even when it started raining, I never gave up. I wanted to find you. Because somewhere deep in my heart, I knew something was wrong. And I wanted to help as much as I can.”

Futaba then started crying again. This time, with weaker tears.

“ _S-So hearing you say that you want to kill yourself…it hurts, Feli. I-It really hurts a lot_.”

I didn’t know that Futaba felt that way. The fact she came looking for me, on her own, in the rain. And made it her duty to help me. I’ve never had someone tell me that face to face before. It was…actually, I can’t explain how I felt about that. Mainly because I never expected to hear that in my life. For most of it, I’ve received nothing but hate. From my stepmother, my so-called friends, and even myself.

So the feeling of happiness…was non-existent to me.

Or…so I thought.

“Futaba. Guys. I...I’m sorry. Truth is…I’ve still been depressed this whole time. And I managed to hide it for this long. But constantly being reminded of what I’ve been through…it was slowly breaking me. Incinerating my sanity bit by bit until I finally lost it. And thus, I ended up crying not long ago.”

“Feli. Why were you hiding such a deep feeling like that?” Futaba asked.

"Well, I wanted to tell. But…" I couldn't say what I wanted to say because I was still upset from earlier.

“You were too scared, were you?” Rin asked me.

Still being upset to talk, I only did a simple nod.

“Feli.” Futaba said as wrapped her arms around me. “You shouldn’t hold in your true feelings like that. If you were feeling this was the whole time, you should tell us. You’re in a better place now. You don’t have to be afraid.”

“ ** _*sniff*_** _R-Really?_ ”

“We’re all here to help you. Right, guys?”

“Of course!” They all cheered.

With all of them saying that I felt a tiny bit of happiness returning back to me. It isn't much. As my sadness still conquers my entire being. But it's a good amount to start with.

“ _Th-Thank you…everyone._ ” I said.

"Hey, there's an ice cream parlor just up ahead from here. You want some, Feli?" Hinata asked.

“Sure. But just one thing…”

“Feli, are you seriously about to ask what an ice cream parlor is?” Naoko asked.

“What? No. I know what that is. I was about to say that I’m allergic to sprinkles.”

“ _Oh._ ” Everyone said. “Wait, really?”

“Yep. My face will swell up like crazy if I eat even just one sprinkle.”

“Wow. Okay, then. I’m sure you can get one without them. Let’s go!” Futaba cheered.

As we were heading for the ice cream parlor, another tiny bit of happiness returned to me. It still made no difference to my depressed state…

…But I am able to say that I’m less sad than I was when I first came to this world.

_Which is good. I guess._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a while for me to finish. As I was struggling to manage the stories I currently have active right now. But I got it done none the less.
> 
> This will be the last update for a while. As I really want to use this month to finish rewriting the original Love of Puyo Puyo. Feel free to review, favorite, and/or follow the story. Thanks for reading. Later.


	7. Act 3-3 First Day of High School

**3-3 Prologue**

 

“ _Amitie…Amitie…_ ”

“ _H-Huh? Wh-What’s going on?_ ” I asked as I felt a light shake on my body.

“Amitie. We’re here.” Lidelle said to me.

“Huh? We are?” I looked out the nearest window and saw that we were at a bus station. It was so confusing…mainly because I saw that it was still night outside.

_How long was this trip again?_

“Wait…what? How is it still night out?” I asked.

“I’ll explain once we leave the station. But for now, let’s just get our things and jump off the bus.”

“Uh…okay then.”

After we grabbed our stuff, we then got off the bus. And while I was looking around the new bus station, Lidelle was talking to the bus driver one last time.

“Thank you again, Mr. Kawasaki.” I heard her say.

“Anytime, Lidelle. Good luck on your journey.” The driver said before closing the doors and driving off. Lidelle then joined me and we both went inside the building.

“ ** _Whoa!_ This place is huge! Way bigger than the one in Primp!** ” I said out of amazement.

“Yeah. It is. Really pretty, too.”

“So now that we’re here, what do we do now?”

“Well…I gotta go make some calls real quick. Could you watch Bal for me? I’ll bring back some snacks when I’m done.”

“Alright.”

As Lidelle went off to make those calls of hers, I sat on a nearby bench with the backpack that had Baldanders inside of it. still don’t understand how that was possible, by the way.

“So this is it, Bal. We’re in this other world. We’re one step closer to finding Feli.”

“ARF! ARF!” Baldanders made the bag jump from inside.

“ ** _*giggle*_** I know you’re excited. You really do miss her, huh?”

“ ** _*whine*_** ” This time, he made the bag slump in sadness.

“ ** _*sigh*_** Yeah. To be honest, I miss her too. She’s a nice girl and a really good friend, too. I truly regret saying that awful thing about her. I just really want to find her and tell her that. And then…I’ll say my final goodbye.”

“ARF?” The bag raised up and turned to me.

“Well…when you think about it, would Feli **_really_** want to go back to Primp? I mean…after what she heard what the others think of her…and what Sig told me about her stepmom, why the hell would she? Hopefully, she’s better off where ever she is now.”

“ ** _*whine*_** Yap! Yap!”

“Don’t worry, Bal. I’m sure that she wants to keep you. No doubt about that.”

“ **ARF! ARF! ARF!** ”

“I’m back.” Lidelle said as she walked up to us. “And I bought some snacks like I promised.”

“Oh, good. I was getting hungry.” I said.

“Hey, Amitie. Are you okay? It looks like you were crying.”

“Huh? Oh, that. I’m probably still tired. It is still night out…for some reason.”

“Oh, right. I should probably explain that. I’ll tell you after we eat. I’m starving.”

“ ** _*giggle*_** Yeah, me too.”

Truth is, I wasn't tired. I really was crying. Because I knew that once we find Feli, apologizing to her isn't going to be a mere cakewalk. And to make matters worse, whether she forgives me or not…I'll have to leave this place. And I'll never see her again. The fact that she went through all that…and I'll never get to help her like a friend should. Let alone, I was too much of an idiot to notice the misery she was suffering for so long…

…It hurts me to say this, but Feli deserves better.

A better life…

A better family…

And most definitely…a better friend.

 

**Act 3-3 – First Day of High School**

 

“ ***nervous moan*** ”

“What’s wrong, Feli? You haven’t touched your food.” Futaba asked me. We were in the middle of eating dinner and I was too focused on something in my mind to eat my food.

“Well, it’s just…tomorrow is…”

“Oh, yeah. Tomorrow is your first day of school.” Satoshi said.

“Aren’t you excited for it?” Miki asked.

“Well…kinda. I’m still little upset that you and Futaba kept it a secret from me until the last minute. But other than that, I’m…kinda nervous.”

“There’s nothing to be nervous about, Feli.” Yuuta said.

“Really?”

“Sure. Think of high school like you’re riding a bike. Except the bike’s on fire…and so is the ground…pretty much everything’s on fire because you’re in hell and a bunch of hell spawns will be out to get you.”

“ **Yuuta!** ” Futaba yelled at him.

“What? I’m just speaking the truth.”

“ **You’re a 3 rd year in middle school! What do you know?!**”

“Yuuta.” Satoshi said. “Are you still watching those high school murder mysteries on TV?”

_High school murder mysteries?!_

“Well, what am I supposed to watch, Dad? There’s nothing else on TV.”

“Watch an anime.” Futaba said.

“Tried it. Fell asleep during the beginning.”

“What?! What anime were you watching?!”

“I dunno. Fell asleep during the intro.”

“ _Tch! Damn, that strings._ ” Futaba held her heart to symbolize the pain.

“Uh, guys. My problem…” I said. Not knowing what was going on.

“Huh? Oh yeah, right. Well Yuuta’s right, Feli. A-About the first part, I mean. You have absolutely nothing to be nervous about. You got me and the others to help you with anything you need.”

“The others? So, you’ve introduced Feli to your friends, dear?”

“Yeah, I did. And they know about her past, too.”

“I see.”

“ ** _*sigh*_** Well…if you say so, Futaba.” I said as I begun eating my food.

 

After dinner was eaten and I took my bath, I was laying down on the futon thing wearing pajamas that Futaba used to wear…wh-when she was…younger.

_I hate my size so much._

A-Anyway, I was once again deep in my own thoughts about tomorrow. That chat at dinner…didn’t really help much.

Especially what Yuuta said.

“ _Aw. So relaxing._ ” Futaba said as she came in the room after taking a bath.

“You sure took a while.” I said to her.

“Yeah. I almost fell asleep in the bathtub. It was just that good.”

“I see.” I then went back into my thoughts. But only for a little while.

“You’re still worried about tomorrow, aren’t you?” Futaba asked me.

“Yeah. Hey, what’s high school like? I mean excluding what Yuuta said earlier.”

“Don’t worry. High school’s really fun. Especially around this time of year.”

“What’s happening around this time?”

“The Cultural Festival!”

I went silent for a bit after hearing that.

“Let me guess. You don’t know what a Cultural Festival is, do you?”

“N-No. Not really.”

“Geez. Did this Primp place do **anything** fun?”

“Well, we usually spend most days popping a bunch of rainbow jelly blobs.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t think about it too much. It’s really complicated.”

“Okay(?)” I could tell that Futaba was confused on the whole concept of Puyo Puyo. Hopefully, I won’t have to explain it to her.

“A-Anyway…the Cultural Festival is an event where we get to display their artistic achievements.”

“Artistic achievements? B-But I’m not an artist.”

“What about those charms you say you know about? Didn’t you say that they were the “ _art of divine_ ” or something like that?”

“It’s “ _Occult Art of Divination_ ”. And no, it’s not the same thing. Some of them are rather dangerous. I’m surprised those bullies and ally cats managed to survive those two spells I made.”

“I-I see…” Futaba said nervously. “W-Well, anyway…it isn’t until next month. We’ll figure something out by then.”

“Wait! If it’s not until next month, then why are you telling me this now?!” I asked sounding a little upset.

“Uh…”

“Girls. Time for bed.” We heard Satoshi’s voice.

“Okay, Dad.” Futaba replied. “Welp. Goodnight, Feli.”

“D-Don’t dodge my question!” I yelled. But then Futaba turned off the lights and faced her back towards me as she tried to sound like she was asleep.

I could tell she was faking. What with the overexaggerated snores she was making. But I decided to just drop it already and go to sleep. Tomorrow, I’m going to experience what high school is really like.

Whether I end up loving or hating it.

 

The next day, being Monday, came along. And I was currently standing in front of the mirror Futaba had in her room. Staring at my own reflection as I was wearing the same brown uniform I saw when I first met Futaba. It never occurred to me until now that this was their school uniform. I've said in the past that I dreamed of wearing this, but now I'm just trying to reel in the fact that I'm actually wearing it right now.

“ _Woah…_ ” I said as I continued to look at myself.

“ ** _*giggle*_** You’re still looking at yourself?” Futaba asked as she walked up to me.

“I-I can’t help it. This uniform was one of the first things I saw when I came to this world. I thought it looked…you know, mature.”

“Yeah, I guess. High school uniforms can make anyone look a bit more mature. Hell, even Rin can look mature. Despite you not being able to see her hands through her blazer.”

“Huh? You can’t see Rin’s hands?”

“Her uniform’s a little big on her. But she doesn’t really seem to care. The rest of us just went along with it.”

“Huh.” Now that I think about it, I never did see Rin’s hands the entire time I met her.

_Kinda reminds me of Lidelle, in a way._

“Now, are you done yet? We gotta get going.”

“Ah. Y-Yeah, sure. I-I’m ready.”

We soon walked out of the house and took a train (which Futaba had to convince me to get on) to the same area we were at when she first showed me the school. I saw a bunch of students wearing the same brown uniform as us. Also carrying a black bag with a shoulder strap on it. Seeing so many people at once triggered my anxiety again. And I tried to hide behind Futaba.

“Hey. Come on. Quit hiding.” She said to me.

“S-Sorry. I-It’s just I’m still a bit nervous.”

“Like I said, you have nothing to worry about. You’ve got me, Hinata, Naoko, and Rin to help you out. It’s going to be fine, I promise.”

“O-Okay then.” I really need to figure out why Futaba’s encouragements are always so reassuring.

We soon reached the school building and…well, after some more convincing from Futaba, walked inside the building itself. For whatever reason, the first thing we have to do is change our shoes in these white slippers that we keep in these small lockers. I asked what for, and Futaba said that every school in Japan does this. So refusing was out of the question.

I ended up putting the slippers on, but they’re flat as hell! The bottom of my feet starting hurting from taking a few steps in these!

_Is this **really** a requirement?!_

“Don’t worry. You’ll get used to them eventually.” Futaba said to me.

“I can only hope.” I said. Wincing in pain from my feet.

The inside of the school was pretty basic. The hallways were like any other school that I know (being only two. The magic school I went to, and the one in Primp). And it had stuff you would normally see in a school. Being lockers, billboards, doors to multiple rooms, etc..

_It…It doesn’t look that much different from my old school. Granted there are a few differences. But nothing mi-_

“Okazaki-san.”

“ **Gah!** ” I panicked and hid behind Futaba again.

“Feli. Come on.”

“S-Sorry.”

I reappeared from behind Futaba to see a tall slender woman with brown hair that was longer and a little darker than Futaba’s. Her eyes were also brown. And, unlike the students (or most teachers I knew), all she was wearing was a white t-shirt and dark-grey sweatpants.

“Morning, Nakamura-sensei.” Futaba greeted the woman.

_Nakamura-sensei? Wait, "sensei" is another word for teacher, right? So this woman's a teacher? Who wears that as a teacher's clothes?_

“I was actually looking for you. I heard that we got a transfer student today.” Then the teacher took a quick glimpse at me. “Oh, is this Kuromi-san?”

“K…Kuromi-san?” I looked and sounded extremely confused.

“It’s another custom we do here.” Futaba said. “We refer to each other by our last names until we earn the right to call each other by our first names.”

“But…what’s with the “ _san_ ” and “ _sensei_ ” parts?”

“Those are honorifics. We use them out of respect.”

“This place just keeps getting weirder…” I said. Still completely lost.

“Anyway…yes, this is Kuromi-san. Feli, this is one of the teachers here and the teacher of my class. Nakamura-sensei.”

“Uh…h-hi.” I said.

“ ** _*snicker*_** She’s really cute for a foreigner.” Nakamura said.

_Again with this foreigner thing? I still don’t know what that is._

“Anyway, I just wanted to meet you early. I’m sure we’ll have a great time together, Kuromi-san.”

“Huh?”

“Wait, Sensei. Does that mean Feli’s in our class?” Futaba asked.

“Yep. I saw the roster change and found out about the transfer from Old Man Shindo. I wanted to get first crack, but it figures that you already knew her.”

“ _First crack_?” I sounded worried.

“Don’t worry, Feli. Nakamura-sensei is really nice and laid back. She couldn’t hurt anyone even if she tried.” Futaba said.

I did a quick sigh as my only response to that.

***INSERT CLASSIC JAPANESE SCHOOL BELL CHIME HERE***

“Welp. Time for class. You plan on introducing her, Okazaki-san?” Nakamura asked.

“No. I think Feli can do it on her own.”

“ **W-Wait, what?!** ” I shouted.

“Come on, Feli. You’re in high school now. What happened in the past may have caused this, but you really need to get over your shyness.”

“I-I’m not shy! I-I just…don’t do well with other people.”

“That’s called being shy.”

“N-No one likes a smartass, you know.”

"Yeah, yeah. Just follow me." Futaba had grabbed my arm and started pulling me around as we went to the class that I'm supposedly in. There was a sign above the door that read 1-3. Not sure what that's supposed to mean, but I didn't have time to ask. As after talking a few steps inside the classroom, I was now standing in front of the whole class.

My…new classmates.

I looked around the place with my eyes without moving my head to at least try to get a good feel of this new environment that I'm in. I saw Futaba sitting at her desk. But then I saw Hinata, Naoko, and Rin at separate desks as well. So it was kinda reassuring that all of my new friends were in the same class as me.

“Alright, class.” Nakamura started talking. “As you can clearly see, we’ve got a new transfer student joining us today. Please introduce yourself.”

**_*sigh*_ ** _Here I go. Like I had a choice, anyway._

“Um…My name is…F-Feli Kuromi. I-I just moved here from, uh…far away. N-Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, Kuromi-san.” The class of (oddly) all girls said in sync.

I was seriously about to cry due to the fact that I never someone in school, let alone the entire class, greet me nicely before. But crying on the first day isn’t really something I should do. So I just grew a medium-sized grin on my face.

“Let’s see…Ah. There’s a seat right there next to Sugihara-san. You can sit there, Kuromi-san.” Nakamura said.

“Yes! I get to sit next to Feli! Lucky!”

“Rin. Calm down.” Naoko, who was a few desks ahead in a different row, said to her.

With the smile still on my face, I went over to my new seat next to Rin. Once I sat down, Rin gave me a smile & hi-five and said that I can rely on her for any info about anything in the world.

I didn’t know how to respond to that. So I just said thank you and my first day of school began from there. But one last thing came to mind…

_Wow. Rin’s uniform really is too big on her._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feli starts her new school life with Futaba and friends. This is the newest step into her better and happier life. Read on to find out how it plays out.
> 
> Also. I should say this now, next chapter will be end of Act 3. And Act 4 will be skipping over a few weeks (probably 3). Don’t want this story to be as long as some of the others.
> 
> Feel free to review, favorite, and/or follow the story. Thanks for reading. Later.


	8. My Teacher Is Special?

So far, my first day is going pretty well. Although a bit boring. Apparently, we have to go through **4 CLASSES** that each last **50 MINUTES** before we even get a break. That’s just completely insane!

And it’s even more so when you have the same teacher teaching you all this stuff. From first glance, I didn’t think Nakamura knew stuff like math, science, English, and history. So seeing her teach all that gave me a second opinion of her. Despite the way she dressed to her job.

And another thing. For some odd reason, Nakamura looks…familiar to me. Like **_really_** familiar. The long brown hair and brown eyes, her voice, and even her name sounds familiar.

Like I know her from somewhere.

“Feli…Feli!”

“H-Huh? Wh-What?”

“You okay? You were spacing out a lot.” Futaba asked me.

“I-I was?”

“You seemed pretty interested with the lessons.” Hinata said.

“Most noticeably, with Nakamura-sensei.” Naoko added.

“Y-You guys noticed?!”

“Yep!” Rin answered. “I even waved my hand in front of you and you still were dead-hooked on Nakamura-sensei.”

“ ** _*whine*_** ” I placed my blushed face on my desk in an attempt to hide my embarrassment.

“Oh come on, Feli. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. People stare at Nakamura-sensei all the time.” Futaba said.

“They do?”

“Often for her good looks.” Hinata added. “There’s just something about her that just makes her so pretty. I wouldn’t mind looking like her sometimes.”

“Right? I totally want to know how she does it. Being pretty all the time must be hard work.”

"Huh? Since when did you two care about being pretty? You both just throw on whatever when we hang out and don't even wear makeup and stuff."

“ _Well, it's not like **you’re** any better, Naoko!_ ” Both girls got insulted.

“Well as much as I agree with you guys on how pretty she is, that’s not the reason.” I said.

“Then what is?” Hinata asked.

“I…I dunno. It’s a strange feeling, but I feel like I know her from somewhere.”

“Really?! You know Nakamura-sensei from somewhere?! Maybe from this other world you’re from?!” Rin asked.

“Rin! Keep it down! No else knows that Feli’s from a different world!” Futaba said while covering her mouth.

Rin let out a muffled “sorry” from Futaba’s hand.

“So you three are already friends with Kuromi-san, huh?” Nakamura asked as she walked up to us.

“You’re still here, Sensei?” Hinata asked.

“I thought you would be eating lunch already.” Naoko added.

“I will. It’s just that I need to talk with Kuromi-san for a bit.”

“A-A talk?” We all asked.

“You don’t mind that I just want it to be us two right, Okazaki-san?”

"Uh…sure, Sensei. Will you be okay on your own for a bit, Feli?" Futaba asked me.

“I-I guess.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll be back before classes resume. Won’t be long at all.”

“O-Okay, then.” I was still a little nervous, but I ended up going with Nakamura to have this talk that she wants to have with me.

“Believe me, Kuromi-san. You are going to enjoy this little chat.” Nakamura said with a light giggle.

_Sh-Should I be worried?_

 

“Uh…Nakamura-sensei, is it? What exactly do you want to talk to me about?” I asked as we continued walking down the hallway of my new school.

“Just a bit longer, Kuromi-san. Just looking for a private place to chat.”

_Private place? Why do I have a really bad feeling about this?_

We eventually found an empty classroom to go into and Nakamura locked the door behind her. Which increased my worries even more. I already feel something strange with this woman. But now, she’s acting strange too.

_Wh-What’s about to happen to me?_

“Now then, Kuromi-san. I’m sure that you’ve been getting these weird feelings about me, right?” Nakamura asked.

“W-Weird feelings?”

“You know. Like how you think you know me from somewhere and stuff like that?”

As I started to ease up a bit, I began remembering the weird feelings I had before. And they were getting stronger now that I was alone with her.

“You know…you do look familiar, Nakamura-sensei. I just…can’t put my finger on it.” I said.

“Figured you wouldn’t.” Nakamura laughed a little.

“Huh?” I was getting more confused the longer this conversation went.

“Well, let me give you a hint. Does the name “Lily” ring any bells?”

“Lily? Now that I think about it…that name **DOES** sound familiar.” I then started thinking hard about that name. And the memory eventually came to me.

“Now I remember. Lily is a maid who works for that spoiled rich-ass bitch Raffina. Don’t know how she puts up with her.”

“Yeah. She’s a fighter, alright.” Nakamura added.

“But why bring her up?”

“Take a look, Kuromi-san.”

 I started looking at Nakamura more. And started seeing what she was talking about. The long brown hair, the brown eyes, the slim body. Even the voice and the name. It was a dead match.

“W-Wait. A-Are you…Lily?!”

“ ** _*giggle*_** Well, yes. And no.” Nakamura answered.

“Huh?”

“Well, you see…I’m actually Lily’s doppelgänger.”

…

…

“Her what?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“You don’t know what that is?”

“Well, yeah. I know what a doppelgänger is. It’s just I find it hard to believe that Lily of all people has one.”

“Yep. She has a doppelgänger. And it’s me.”

“How the hell did that happen?”

"Ha-ha. It's actually a funny story. You see, it was back when she was a first-year in high school. She and her friends found this weird-looking mirror and it actually sliced Lily in half based on her personalities. Her mature side, which is the one you know. And then me, the fun side."

“That doesn’t sound funny at all.”

“Well, that’s where it stops being funny, anyway.”

“I don’t get it.”

Nakamura went silent while gaining a frown and looking away from me. I was able to tell that she was hiding a bigger secret than just being Lily’s other half.

“Well…you see, Kuromi-san…Lily and I haven’t seen each other since that day.”

“Oh. I see. And I think I know why, too.” I said.

“You do?”

“I learned it from one of my books back home. “ _Doppelgängers can’t live in the same world as their hosts. As it would cause a tear in space-time, and may destroy the universe they both reside in._ ” Did I get that right?”

“Yeah. Them’s the rules. Not long after being created, I had to say goodbye to Lily and her friends. Or else…the entire world would’ve paid the price. Lily didn’t like me at first, but she eventually got around to see me as a sister. Too bad we can never act like that together." Nakamura sounded really depressed after saying that.

“Geez. I’m sorry to hear that, Nakamura-sensei.” I said.

“Thanks, Kuromi-san. But it’s not all bad. I ended up coming to this world and graduated from this school with my own identity. And now, I’m a teacher at said school.”

“Wait, you were a student here?!”

“Yeah. Though when senior year ended, I felt such a close bond to this place that I never wanted to leave. So after getting a teaching degree, I became a teacher at the only school I ever been to. Haranishi High School.”

“Wow.” Was all I could say at the moment.

“Sorry for bringing this up now on your first day. But when I overheard you girls saying that you’re from a different world, I felt like I had to tell ya.”

“No, I get it now. In a way, I kinda have to thank and blame Rin for all this.”

“Yeah. Sugihara-san can be really hyper at times. Sometimes, even too much."

“So I’ve noticed.”

***INSERT CLASSIC JAPANESE SCHOOL BELL CHIME HERE***

“Well, would you look at that. Lunch is over. Shall we go back, Kuromi-san?”

“Yeah, I guess. Pretty sure the others are wondering where I am at this point.”

“Oh, and…do you think you could keep this a secret from the other students? I don’t want any rumors spreading around.”

"Sure thing, Nakamura-sensei." I agreed. But then I thought of something that never would've come to mind if this talk didn't happen.

“One more thing, Sensei. What did people call you when you were a high school student? I mean your full name and such.”

…

…

“Well…I guess I can tell ya.” Nakamura said after a short pause. Then after she cleared her throat…

“My full name is Ily Nakamura.”

“Ily?”

“It’s “Lily”, but without the first “L”. Just something for me to remember her by.”

“I see. Well, you’re secret’s safe with me…Ily Nakamura.”

“Hey. I’m still you’re teacher, you know.”

“Yeah, I know. I just had to say it at least once.” I said with a short laugh.

We both headed bath to the classroom where I met up with the others as they were finishing their lunch. Seeing that made me realize that I didn’t eat anything today. And I was starving as hell.

“There you are, Feli. You were gone all throughout lunch.” Futaba said to me.

“Don’t remind me.”

“It’s okay. Hinata and I saved you some bread.” Naoko said as she threw me a piece wrapped in foil paper.

“Bread?! That’s it?!”

“Hey. Bread is a really popular snack to have here in Japan. We were lucky to get some for ourselves.” Hinata said.

“ ** _*sigh*_** I swear, this world is so weird.” I said while facepalming myself.

“So, you’re saying your world’s more normal?”

“No. Not in the slightest. But it’s customs sure as hell are.”

“ _Huh._ ” The four girls responded. Each sounding insulted.

“Okay, everyone. Let’s get back to our seats and continue with class.” Nakamura said.

As everyone went back to their seats, I felt a light tap on my shoulder and turned to face the other girls.

“So, what were you and Nakamura-sensei talking about?” Futaba asked me.

“Um…it’s a secret.”

“ _Aw! Not even the first day and Feli’s keeping secrets from us!_ ” Rin whined.

“Sorry, Rin. Nakamura-sensei made me promise not to tell. I may not look like it, but I don’t break promises.”

…

…

“Well, now that you say that…you do look like you do.” Futaba said.

“Yep.” Hinata agreed.

“I see it.” Naoko added.

“It’s clear as day!” Rin cheered.

“ _Hey._ ” I got insulted.

“That was payback for the bread thing.” Hinata said. Then she and the others giggled a bit.

“Whatever.” I said with a pouty tone.

 

**_End of Act 3_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, Act 3 ends on a positive note. Feli learns a deep secret from her new teacher and gets more comfortable in her new school environment. A nice stopping point for now, I believe.
> 
> You know that I actually research these things about Japanese school life and such. If I’m going to be using this setting, I want it to be as accurate as possible.
> 
> Anyway…feel free to review, favorite, and/or follow the story. This story will go on a quick break, but Act 4 is coming soon. So look out for it. Thank for reading. Later.


	9. Act 4-1 Cultural Festival α

**Act 4 Prologue**

 

“Hey, Lidelle. I gotta be honest with you.”

“Huh? With what, Amitie?”

“I, uh, well…I don’t think we should try to convince Feli to come back with us.”

“What? Why not? Didn’t you want to look for her?”

“Well yeah, but…” I went silent for a bit before continuing on. “After hearing about what she’s been going through in Primp…the abuse and neglect from her stepmom, knowing that the entire town hates her, and losing Lemres without even knowing his true intentions. Wherever she is in this new world, I bet she’s a lot happier than when she was living in Primp.”

“I think I understand.”

“I just…I just don’t want to hurt her again. I already feel bad for saying that awful thing when she was near inches away. I don’t expect her to accept my apology. But I just want her to know that I’m really sorry. And that she deserves better.”

“Yes. I do think that too.”

“ARF.” Baldanders jumped from inside the backpack.

“ ** _*sigh*_** Thanks, you guys. That really helped a lot.”

“I’m sure Feli would appreciate those kind words of your, Amitie.”

“Thanks.”

…

…

…

“W-Wait, who said that?”

“Behind you.”

We both turned around to see someone I haven’t seen in a good while. It’s still surprising that he’s here. But then again, he is powerful.

“L-Lemres!” I yelled.

“Hello, girls. Lemres said with a tip of his hat. “Sorry I took so long. The traffic in this world is a bit of a pain.”

“Yeah, I can relate.” Lidelle said. “So I’m guessing you got my message?”

“Yeah, I did. Can’t believe Feli ended up in this world. And you believe she has no idea?”

“Yes. I do believe she got here by chance. I also told Amitie everything. She’s now in on it.”

“I see. Well, it’s best that we complete this mission and fast. Before we end up running into her.”

“Uh…” I spoke up. “Actually, Lemres…I want to find her.”

“Hm? And why is that, Amitie?”

“Because…I now know the truth. What Feli’s been through. How she’s been suffering this whole time and no one gave a damn. I hate myself for blindly treating her like crap. **_*sniff*_** I just her to know…how truly sorry I am. **_*sniff*_** And that she doesn’t deserve a trashy friend like me.” I then started crying as I dropped my head down in shame.

“Amitie…” Lidelle said as she gave me a hug.

“I see.” Lemres said. “Well, I’ll leave that to you, Amitie.”

“ ** _*sniff*_** _F-For real?_ ”

“Think of this as your own secret mission.”

“Lemres, this is rather kind of you. But is this really a good idea?” Lidelle asked.

“ ** _*giggle*_** I’m positive this will work out, Lidelle. It’ll give her something to do while we work on the main mission.”

“I understand that. But this world is rather big. Won’t she get lost?”

“Come on, Lidelle. I can do it. Just trust me a little. Please?”

Lidelle gave this request much **MUCH** thought. She may look and act all shy like, but she’s really mature. Way more than me. And we’re the same age.

“Alright. Just please be careful, Amitie.”

“Yay! Thanks, Lidelle!” I cheered. Then something came to mind at the last minute. “Oh, yeah. Can I take Bal with me?”

“Bal? Where…”

“ARF! ARF!” Baldanders moved around in the bag to get Lemres to notice.

“Aw. I see. Well then, I sure it’s fine.”

“You hear that, Bal? we’re one step closer to finding Feli. You excited?”

“ **ARF!** ” The bag jumped again.

“But first, I’m sure you three are exhausted from the trip. My hideout is a few kilometers to the East. How’s about we take a break for today?”

“Fair enough.”

“We’ve been here for most of the day. I could use some food.” Lidelle added.

“Alright. Follow me.” Lemres said with a tip of his hat.

As we finally stepped outside this bus station, I took a glimpse of this new world we’ve ended up in. Lidelle was right. It really is big. Possibly 100x bigger than tiny ‘ol Primp Town.

But I’m not gonna let that discourage me. Not when I have a goal of my own. I’m going to find Feli. I’m going to apologize. And I’m going to…

…

Hopefully not cry…when we officially part ways forever.

 

 

 

 

 

 **Act 4-1 – Cultural Festival** **α**

 

_Quick Note: We are now one month later from the events that took place from the previous acts (this includes the Act 4 Prologue). Please keep this in mind as you continue to read this story. Enjoy!_

 

“…And that, girls, is the entire Edo Dynasty. Summed up in just 50 minutes.”

“Whoa!”

“She actually did it!”

“Damnit! Now I owe Nakamura-sensei ¥5000!”

(about $46)

“Thank you. I’ll be here all week. Like I have a choice, anyway.” Nakamura gloated while doing a bow.

“Wow. She actually did it.” Naoko said.

“Pretty impressive, if you ask me.” Futaba said.

“That’s Nakamura-sensei for ya! Always amazing her students!” Rin cheered.

“In more ways than one.” Hinata added.

***INSERT CLASSIC JAPANESE SCHOOL BELL CHIME HERE***

“Oh don’t forget, girls. Monday we start planning for the Cultural Festival. We’ll decide on a theme and divide the work based on groups.”

“Yes, Sensei.” The class said as everyone begun packing up for the day. Me and the others were now heading out of the school talking about the Cultural Festival coming up and what to do for it.

“For the last time, you two. We are not doing an anime-binge for the festival.”

“ _Aw come on, Hinata!_ ” Rin whined.

“ _I’ll be super fun!_ ” Futaba whined with her.

“For who, exactly?”

“Not everyone watches anime, you know.” Naoko added.

“Come on! You agree with me, right Feli?”

“Futaba, I would…if I knew what anime was.” I said to her.

“ ** _*whine*_** _Fine_.” Futaba finally gave up. “And I suppose **_you_** have a better idea, Hinata?”

“Why, I’m glad you asked, Futaba. I do in fact have a better idea.” Hinata gloated with a smile on her face. “I say we do a café.”

“Huh? A café?” I asked.

“Isn’t that a bit too cliché?” Rin asked.

“Wh-What do you know about clichés, Rin?”

“Well, it’s just that the idea of doing a café coming from you of all people is…rather shocking.”

“Shocking?”

“Yeah.” Naoto added. “Cause typically cafés mean that we’ll have to dress up and act girly. And you’re as serious as a middle-aged man paying his taxes.”

"What?! That's absurd! I can be girly any time of day!"

“ _Really?_ ” We all asked.

“ **Yes, really!** ”

“Okay, tell you what, Hinata.” Futaba said. “Yuuta should be home from school by now. We’ll go ask him what he thinks.”

“Huh? Why Yuuta?”

“Because with his age, he’ll know if a girl is cute or not. In more ways than one.”

_Is that really something to gloat about, Futaba?_

“Hmph. Fine, I’m in. Let’s go ask him then.” Hinata started walking faster than the rest of us. Clearly excited to prove us wrong.

“H-Hey! Hinata! Wait for us!” Rin whined as we tried to catch up.

 

We somehow managed to catch up Hinata before we got to the house. Didn’t think she was such a faster walker. Then again, she is on the track team. So it makes some kind of sense.

“Yo! Yuuta!” Futaba called out.

“In the kitchen.”

We went to the kitchen where we found Yuuta currently making a sandwich for himself. He was kinda shocked to see all of us at once.

Kinda. But not much.

“Oh. Hey, guys. What’s up?” He asked.

“We need to ask you something. And we want your honest opinion.” Futaba explained.

“Huh. Okay, shoot.”

“Do you think Hinata can be girly?” Naoto asked.

It took a while for Yuuta to give out an answer. Mainly because he was eating his sandwich at the same time. But from the look on his sandwich-stuffed face, he looked pretty shocked that we eve asked this question in the first place.

“Hinata? Girly?”

…

“You’re joking, right?”

“What?! Seriously you too, Yuuta?!” Hinata complained.

“Sorry, Hinata. It’s just that the entire time I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you act girly. Hell, I’ve seen you scold Futaba for being immature at times.”

“ _Almost like mother and child._ **_*giggle*_** ” Naoto and Rin teased.

“Shut it, you two!” Hinata and Futaba yelled at them.

I tried to hold in my laughter…but eventually failed.

“You seriously think it’s funny?” Futaba asked me.

“ _Well_ …maybe a little.”

“ _Feli…_ ”

“Oh, yeah. Found your phone, Feli.” Yuuta said.

“Really?! Where was it?!”

“It ended up behind the fridge. I saw it under there when I dropped the lid for the mayo.”

“How did it get behind the fridge?” Hinata asked.

Futaba and I looked at each other with a little nervousness shared between us.

“ _Well…_ you know those charms I told you guys about?” I asked.

“I _kinda_ begged Feli to show me a few and one of them made her phone disappear. We looked everywhere, but couldn’t find it.”

“I see. And when was this?”

“Uh…about a month ago.”

“A-A month?!”

“Quit worrying, Hinata. We found it now.”

“Yeah, but losing your phone for a month because of something like that is completely reckless.”

“You’re overreacting.”

“A-Am not.”

“I think I’m starting to see it now.” I whispered to Naoko and Rin.

“Right? Totally like mother and child.” Naoko said.

“Or a comedy duo.” Rin added.

“Oh, yeah. Definitely that.”

“You three are not helping!” Hinata and Futaba yelled again.

Yuuta gave me my phone and, like anyone would expect, it was super dusty.

***ACHOO!***

“Bless you.” Naoko said.

“Thanks.” I then took a look at my phone once it was dust-free. One thing I noticed was that it still had a little juice in it. but then I noticed something else. And it was…rather shocking.

“Hey. I got a voicemail. From a month ago.”

“Huh? A month ago?” Futaba asked.

“Wow. Whoever it is, they must be **_really_** pissed that you ignored them for a month.” Yuuta said.

“Shut it, Yuuta.”

“What? Just pointing out the obvious.”

“What’s the voicemail? Who’s it from? Do you got their number? I need to know!” Rin yelled.

“Rin. Calm down.” Naoko said to her.

I pressed play on the voicemail and a voice began to play. And it didn't take long for me to recognize whose voice it was.

“ _Because…I now know the truth. What Feli’s been through. How she’s been suffering this whole time and no one gave a damn. I hate myself for blindly treating her like crap. ***sniff*** I just her to know…how truly sorry I am. ***sniff*** And that she doesn’t deserve a trashy friend like me._ ”

_A-Amitie?_

“Wow. Who’s that? She sounds really sad.” Rin said.

“More importantly, she mentioned how she knows the truth of what you went through.” Hinata added.

“Feli. Is she…a person from your world?” Futaba asked.

…

…

“Feli?”

“ _Yeah. She is._ ” I said in a sad tone. “ _That was a girl named Amitie. She and I…weren’t exactly close. But she was the only person who was friendly towards me._ ”

“Didn’t you say that the other kids feared and hated you?” Yuuta asked.

“ _Y-Yeah. B-But Amitie was…different in a way. She's a bit of a dunce, but she still treated me as a friend. She didn't fear or hate me. And would always ask if I was doing fine. Most of the time I would lie straight to her face. But she would never notice._ ”

“I guess that explains why she said she was a trashy friend, huh?” Rin asked.

“ _Well…n-not exactly._ ”

“There’s more?”

“ _That day…when I heard everyone talk shit about me…she was there._ ”

“ **What?!** ” Futaba shouted. “ **And she thinks she has the right to call you out of the blue?! The nerve of her!** ”

“ **Shut the hell up! You don’t understand!** ” I shouted back at her. Causing everyone in the room to look at me with shock.

"S-Sorry." I apologized. "But I know Amitie. Even though she said those things, I know she didn't mean it. It was those asswipes that made her say it! But I ended up blaming her as well! I'm just as bad as them!" I then started crying hard tears in front of everyone. Being reminded of a different side of that horrible day.

“Feli…” Futaba wrapped her arms around my distressed body and tried to comfort me of my sadness. It surprisingly worked. Because not long after, I stopped crying. I really need to figure out how she does that.

“I’m sure that this Amitie girl never really meant to hurt you.” Hinata said.

“Yeah, she sounds like a really good friend.” Naoto added.

“Yeah. She is. Although I can’t really say the same thing. I left town…scratch that, I left my own world without telling her. The amount of guilt she has right now…I feel so horrible.”

“Try calling her, Feli! Maybe you can apologize to her!” Rin yelled.

“Well…I could try.”

I looked through my contacts to find Amitie’s number. This was the first time I actually had to search for a number. As I had a long list of contacts.

Futaba

Hinata

Naoko

Rin

Yuuta

Miki

Satoshi

Ily

Amitie

For some reason, her number was at the very bottom of the list. Despite her name starting with an “A”. Probably a glitch or something.

I dialed her number and…

“ _Hiya! It’s Amitie! Sorry I missed you! I’m out having lots of fun right now! But let’s talk again soon! Bye now!_ ”

“Damnit, Amitie! How come you never charge your phone?!” I yelled in anger.

“Does that happen a lot?” Naoto asked.

“Yeah. Like I said, she’s a bit of a dunce.”

“I see…”

“Well, maybe you can try calling her later.” Futaba said to me.

“ ** _*sigh*_** Yeah, I guess.”

_And when I do, I gotta ask if Bal is okay…_

“Now that I think about it, why did you guys ask me if Hinata can be girly?” Yuuta asked.

"Oh, yeah! I-I forgot! Our school's Cultural Festival is coming up and Hinata suggested that we do a café." Futaba explained.

“Wait. The idea of a café…came from Hinata?”

“I know, right? It’s unbelievable.”

“O-Oh my God! You guys are awful!” Hinata yelled.

“Sorry, girl. We just don’t see it. You being girly, that is.” Naoto said.

“C-Come on! Isn’t there a way I can prove to you guys that I can be girly?”

We thought about this for a second. Then, I gained the most excited smile I’ve ever had since coming to this world. My idea was so great in my mind, that I couldn’t stop laughing.

“ _Well…there is one way. **Fufufufu!**_ ” I said in my occult girl persona.

“Wh-Why did you say it like that?” Hinata started to get worried.

“Oh, trust me, Hinata.” Futaba said. “When Feli talks like that, you’re in for one hell of a time.”

“ _Ooh…_ ” The other three said.

“ _Don’t worry, Hinata. It’s completely harmless. Well… **physically** harmless, I mean. **Fufufufu!**_ ”

“ _Aw…shit._ ” Hinata whined.

 

 _*Coming soon: The_ _Haranishi High School Cultural Festival. Fun, food, and games! Plus take a tour of the school! Don’t miss out!*_

“Huh. This looks interesting. Hey, Lidelle. Come check this out.”

“What is it, Amitie?” Lidelle asked as she walked up next to me.

“There’s this thing called a Cultural Festival coming to this place called Haranishi High School. We should go!”

“A Cultural Festival? I’ve heard of those, but never really went to one myself. Is this really a good idea?”

“Well…I figured we could use a little break from looking for Feli. I mean, we’ve been here for a month and we haven’t had much luck.”

“That’s true…”

“Plus, the last time I’ve been to a different world was when we met Ally. I always want to explore a new world. Especially one this big.”

“Well…” Lidelle wasn’t too sure about the idea.

“ _Please, Lidelle?_ ”

“…I’m just saying, Amitie. Maybe we should ask Lemres…”

**_*BZZZT*_ **

Lidelle reached for her phone and read the message she had just received.

“What the…”

“What?” I asked.

“It’s Lemres. He said we can go.”

“Really?! Wait, how did he know that we were talking about such a thing?”

“Who knows. Probably some comet warlock thing.”

**_*BZZZT*_ **

Lidelle looked at her phone again.

“Seriously?”

“What did he say now?” I asked.

“He said it’s not a comet warlock thing. But won’t explain what it actually is.”

_Lemres, you weirdo._

“Anyway…we get to go to this Cultural Festival thing! I can’t wait!”

“ARF!” Baldanders shuffled in the bag.

“When is it, anyway?”

"Hm…it says it's this weekend. Saturday and Sunday." Lidelle read off the flyer.

“Woah! Two whole days! I’m gonna go to both!”

“Don’t forget why we came here, Amitie.”

“I know. I can never forget that.”

“Alright. And I’m a bit excited for it, too.”

“See? We’ll have lots of fun! I just know it!”

“ARF!” Baldanders moved in the bag again.

“ ** _*giggle*_** You’re always so cheerful, Amitie.” Lidelle said to me.

_Yeah. I guess I am. In fact, for the past month I've been in a pretty good mood. But I still horrible for not being there for Feli. That's the one part of me…_

_…that’s still really sad._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Act 4 of 6 begins! And it’s Cultural Festival time! This usually happens in early November in Japan. So it’s safe to say that this story started off in October.
> 
> I forgot to mention this before, but Feli, Futaba, and the other girls are 1st years in high school. If that clears up the story a bit.
> 
> No Puyo-related updates for a while (maybe like 3-4 days). Got two other stories to update. Thanks for reading.


	10. Act 4-2 Cultural Festival β

The next day, all of us met up at the pancake restaurant to help Hinata with her girly problem.

And by “problem”, I really mean…

“ ** _Feli! I can’t believe you’re making me wear this!_** ”

“Well, you did ask for help, Hinata.” I said to her from the other side of the curtain.

“ ** _Yeah, but not THIS kind of help!_** ”

“Just come out already, Hinata.” Futaba said.

“Yeah! I wanna see you in your cute and girly outfit!” Rin yelled.

“ ** _*sigh*_** _Fine._ ”

Once the curtain was opened, Hinata stepped out of the changing room we had in the back of the restaurant to reveal herself wearing a light-red maid outfit with pink frills coming from the sleeves and neck area.

“Oh…” Futaba said.

“My…” Naoko said.

“God…” Rin said.

…

…

…

“ **Pfft Hahahaha Hahahaha!!!** ” Then all three of them started to laugh. Really hard.

“ **Sh-Shut up! St-Stop laughing!** " Hinata yelled with a high amount of blush on her face.

“S-Sorry, Hinata. It’s just…just… **Baaahahahaha!** ” Futaba went back to laughing.

“ ** _Guys…_** ”

"Hey, guys. What's with all the laugh…" Yuuta opened the door and saw what the rest of us were looking at. We thought that he froze in place. Until he shook his head and rubbed his eyes a bit.

“P-Permission to laugh?”

“ **No!** ” Hinata yelled.

“Permission granted.” Futaba said.

“Th-Thank you. **Baaahahahaha!** ”

“ ** _Grr!_ Damn you all!**”

“Alright right, you guys. I think Hinata’s had enough.” Satoshi said as he and Miki joined us all in the break room.

“ _Thank you, Mr._ _Okazaki._ ” Hinata said with a sigh of relief.

“Still, I find it quite odd that we even had a maid outfit just lying around. I don’t even remember getting it.”

"We found it in your guy's closet when we were looking for Feli's phone that night."

“O-Our closet? How did it get… _Miki._ ” Satoshi turned to his wife.

“U-Uh, well. Y-You see, dear…I _kinda_ bought that during my pregnancy with Yuuta.”

“ **What?!** ” Both man and boy reacted.

“I thought Yuuta was going to be a girl. So I bought it thinking about this time I could get him to wear it. B-But since she was a he…it never went to use.”

“Thank God…” Yuuta said.

“Why didn’t you return it, then?” Satoshi asked.

"You honestly think I would return such a beautiful maid costume like that? Of course, I kept it. Thinking that we'll have another girl someday."

“ **Y-You want another?!** ”

“ **No way!** ” Both Okazaki siblings yelled out.

“Well, it’s something to think about, right? Right?”

“Miki…please.” Satoshi said with a facepalm.

“So…why am I wearing Female Yuuta’s maid outfit?” Hinata asked.

“H-Hey!” Yuuta got insulted.

“Well, Hinata. If you really want to prove to us that you can be girly, then you’ll have to wear that maid outfit while helping us out with the restaurant today.” Futaba explained.

“ **Wh-What?! Y-You mean that I have to wear this thing all day?!** ”

“And Sunday’s the busiest day of the week for us.” I added.

“ **I-I-I change my mind! I-I-I don’t want to be girly! Forget about that stupid café idea! I don’t know what I was thinking!** ”

“Oh come on, Hinata. I actually thought it was a good idea.” Naoko said.

“Yeah, me too.” Rin added.

“I’m actually jealous that I didn’t think of it myself.” I said.

“Plus, we could really use some help today. The week before the Cultural Festival is one of our busiest days ever.” Futaba said.

“W-Well…” Hinata looked a bit unsure of the idea.

“A-And, uh…you do look cute in it. If that helps.” Yuuta added.

“C-Cute?!”

Hinata froze for a second. Then grew a smirk on her face as she started doing multiple poses with the maid outfit on.

“Well, if you really mean that, then I can’t refuse your request now, can I? **_*giggle*_** ”

“ _So gullible…_ ” Naoko and Futaba whispered to themselves with an added facepalm.

***INSERT SOUND OF AN ALARM HERE***

“Welp. It’s time to open up. Is everyone ready?” Satoshi asked.

“Yep.” Futaba said.

“I’m ready.” I said.

“Yeah, sure.” Yuuta said.

“I’m **_so_** ready to flaunt my cute stuff to the general public!” Hinata said while making yet another pose.

“Shut up, you weirdo.” Futaba said to her.

“We’ll lend a hand as much as we can. Right, Rin?” Naoko asked.

“Sure! I’m willing to help! As long as I get…”

“No free food.” Satoshi and Miki said.

“ _Aw! Fine! I’ll still help!_ ” Rin whined.

“Alright! Thanks, you guys!” Futaba cheered. Then she grabbed my hand and held it tight with excitement.

“Let’s go get loaded with cash!” She said to me.

“Uh…okay.” Was the only reasonable response I could think of for such a statement.

* * *

 

***BOOM***

***POW***

***EXPLOSION***

“ ** _GAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!_** ”

“ _Yeah! Another monster defeated! Thanks for helping me out, fellow magical girls! Let’s keep going until no more monsters exist! Cutie!_ ”

“Woah! So cool!”

“There you are, Amitie.”

I turn to see Lidelle and Lemres walking up towards me. With Lidelle carrying a few bags in her hands.

“I can’t believe you ran off while I had to carry these bags from the store. They’re super heavy.” Lidelle complained.

“Sorry, guys. It’s just I got into this super cool show recently and I didn’t want to miss it.”

“Well…I see that you’ve gotten into anime, huh Amitie?” Lemres asked.

“Anime?” We both asked.

“It’s a type of television program that’s exclusive to this world. There’s so many, it even has its own list of genres. Though, it’s not my cup of tea.”

“Woah…”

***INSERT ANIME ENDING THEME HERE***

“So what was this one called?” Lidelle asked me.

“Uh…hold on. I actually wrote it down. It’s called… _Mahō Shōjo Kyūtīpai Erica-chan’s_ _Doki Doki_ _Kiseki no Chiryō-hō_.”

“What?”

“I don’t know, Lidelle. It took me a while to even say that the first time I saw it.”

“I believe it translates to _Magical Girl Cutie Pie Erica’s Heart-throbbing Miracle Cure_.” Lemres said.

“Now the name sounds even more ridiculous.” Lidelle said.

“Lemres, how did you know that?” I asked.

“What you have written down is a language known as Japanese. It’s what most people in this world speak. Although some know English as well.”

“Whoa. A new world with a new language. I gotta learn it! Can you teach me, Lemres? Please?” Lidelle asked.

"I would, Lidelle…but I don't know it either. I can only translate it into English."

“Really? Well, maybe I can do it, too.”

“Huh?” Me and Lemres were confused.

“Well, it’s worth a shot, right?”

“I guess. But can you really learn a new language so easily?” I asked.

“Well…maybe if we go to a place were people speak this “Japanese”, I can get a good understanding of it. What’s a good spot to go to?”

***GROWL***

“ _H-How about a restaurant?_ ” I asked while holding my stomach.

“Right. I haven’t eaten anything since this morning.” Lemres added.

“Well, if it’s a restaurant you guys want, then I know the perfect spot. There’s one right down the block that makes the best pancakes.”

“Pancakes? But it’s nearly 3 in the afternoon.” I said.

“There’s no set time for pancakes, Amitie.” Lidelle said with a big derpy smile.

“Lidelle…you’re drooling.”

“Hmm. I say we give it a chance.” Lemres said. “If it’s the best, then we can’t deny it, can we?”

“True.” I then remembered something. “What do you think, Bal?”

“ARF ARF!” Baldanders moved inside the bag.

“You just want something to eat, huh? **_*sigh*_** I get you. Alright, let’s go.”

“ _Super Duper Quadruple-stacked pancakes, here I come! Hahahaha!_ ”

“Lidelle. Please wipe your mouth.” I said to her. Trying not to look at her waterfall of drool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a regular day for Feli and the others. But Amitie, Lidelle, Lemres, and Baldanders are nearby. Will the two groups meet at last? Keep reading and find out.
> 
> Also, Magical Girl Cutie Pie Erica’s Heart-throbbing Miracle Cure is not a real anime. In case some of you didn’t know. God, I cannot say that name with a straight face.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading. Later.


	11. Act 4-3 Cultural Festival γ

“Whoa! This place is packed!” I shouted as the three of us (four, if you count Baldanders inside the backpack) walked inside this pancake restaurant Lidelle suggested.

“No surprise there. I’ve heard this place makes the best pancakes this world’s ever seen.” Lidelle said.

“My, my. If it really is true, then I hope we can get some ourselves before they run out.” Lemres said.

“Yeah, me too. I’m starving.” I said while holding my stomach.

“Hello there.” A light-brown haired girl greeted us. “Sorry for the wait. It’s really busy today. Table for 3?”

“Uh…” Lidelle and I were too nervous to say anything.

“Yes, please. That would be fine.” Luckily, Lemres confirmed it for us.

"Very well. Please follow me. There's an open table nearby."

“Thank you very much.”

After the girl walked us to our table and gave us each a menu, we looked around this place some more. It was rather small. Maybe as big as a regular diner. But there was still a bunch of people here. So the girl wasn’t kidding when she said this place was super busy.

“Woah. They got so much stuff here. It’s actually insane.” I said.

“Donuts, kolaches, cakes, pastries, multiple ice cream flavors, and a super-duper bunch of candy. _I think I’m in sweets heaven._ ” Lemres said as he looked over the menu.

“Please do control yourself, Lemres.” Lidelle said. “We don’t have much money to be spending on a bunch of food.”

“Oh really, Lidelle? Cause I think I remember telling you the exact same thing back at the supermarket.”

“Th-That was different! W-We’re eating now, not later!”

“ _Right._ ”

_Geez. One with a sweet tooth and one with a black hole for a stomach. At this rate, we'll be broke before getting to the entrées. I better step in when the time comes._

"Hello there. Thank you for visiting today. May I take your order?" A long black-haired girl wearing a light-red maid outfit with a bunch of pink frills came up and asked us. It struck me as odd that she was wearing such a thing. The other girl wore normal clothes. And this one's wearing a maid outfit?

Well…she does look pretty cute in it.

“Let’s see…” Lemres said.

“There’s so much to chose.” Lidelle said. “I think I might just…”

“3 stacks of pancakes, please.” I interrupted both of them.

“H-Hey!”

“H-Hey!”

***SOUND OF BAG SHUFFLING***

“Sorry. Make that 4 stacks.”

“Four?” The maid girl was confused based on the fact that there were only three of us sitting at the table.

“We’ve got an extra person coming.” I made up a lie.

“Okay, then. 4 stack of pancakes coming right up.” The maid girl then took our menus and went off to deliver our order. Skipping all the way to the kitchen for…some odd reason.

“Not cool, Amitie.” Lidelle said.

“Are you serious? You and Lemres would’ve made us and this restaurant bankrupted if I didn’t step in. And besides, you wanted pancakes, right?”

“Yeah, but not **one** stack.”

“She does have a point, Lidelle.” Lemres said. “We are starting to run low on funds. Hopefully, we get this mission done soon.”

“Oh, yeah. About that. what made you want to do this, Lemres?” I asked.

Lemres went dead silent as he tipped his hat forward in shame and regret.

“Wait. I know. You knew, huh?”

“Yeah. I’m afraid so. That stepmother of hers is a real…y-you get the idea.”

“Yeah.”

“Big time.” Lidelle added.

***SOUND OF BAG SHUFFLING***

“I think Bal agrees, too.” I said.

"I bet he does. I mean, he did live with her too."

“Yeah, true.”

“Anyway…” Lemres continued. “Reasoning with that woman has been proven time and time again…impossible. So, with our options running out, I decided to do this special mission to hopefully give Feli some peace of mind for once in her life.”

“By finding “them” right?” Lidelle asked.

“Yeah. Although to be honest, I’m not having much luck so far. I just can’t seem to find anyone with Kuromi for a last name. I mean, I know this world is big and all. But I should’ve at least found something by now.”

“I see.” I said. “I didn’t think it would be that hard for you. Which probably explains why you’ve been here a while.”

“Yeah, it’s been grueling. But if it’s to make Feli happy, then I can’t give up.”

_Wow. What a friend Lemres is. Sure, he had to lie to Feli (and pretty much everyone expect Lidelle) in order to do this. But he’s willing to do this for her. No wonder she has a huge crush on him._

_…_

_You know. Now that I think about it…_

“Hey, Lemres. You know how Feli has a crush on you? Do you feel the same way towards her?” I asked.

Once again, Lemres went dead silent. But this time it wasn’t shame. He was actually thinking about what to say. I wonder…

“Well…”

“Here you go. 4 stacks of pancakes. Hot n’ ready.” The maid girl said as she came back with 4 plates of pancakes.

_Fiddlesticks! What bad timing!_

“Thank you kindly. But can I get mine to-go?” Lemres asked.

“Sure. Let me get a to-go box.”

“Thank you again.”

“Huh? Where are you going?” I asked.

“I’m going to continue looking. There has to be some clues out there. Oh, and use this to cover the bill.” Lemres pulled out a nice shiny credit card out of his pocket and placed it on the table.

“I thought you said we were running low on funds.” Lidelle said.

“We are. This is just my back-up money. Just in case something like this happened.”

“You **_really_** came prepared for this, did you?”

“I’ve learned a few from being sent to the other two worlds.”

“Which reminds me, why was I the only person to not go to Ringo’s world?”

“Uh…” Neither me or Lemres had a good answer for that.

“Here’s your to-go box, sir.” The maid girl came back.

“Oh. Thank you so much. Well, see you girls later.” Lemres packed up his pancake stack and soon left the restaurant to continue his search.

"Geez. He's really serious about it all. Which reminds me, I better get back to searching, too. I really want to tell her that I'm sorry. I feel awful that it's taken this long."

“Yeah, me too.” Lidelle said. “Though you really are a good friend, Amitie. Coming all the way out here when no one else would. Feli could really use a friend like that. Wherever she is.”

“ ** _*sigh*_** Yeah.”

“W-Wait! A-Are you…Amitie?!” The maid girl asked in shock.

_Huh. I didn’t even know she was still here…_

“Uh…yeah. Why?” I sounded confused.

“W-Well…d-do you mind staying here until the restaurant closes?”

“Huh?” Me and Lidelle were highly confused at this point.

“I-It’s for a good reason. Trust me.”

“Okay, then. What’s this good reason?” Lidelle asked.

The girl looked rather panicked about it all. But at some point, she calmed down with a huge sigh and finally decided to tell us more info.

“W-Well, you see…F-Feli’s here.”

“ **WHAT?!** " We both shouted. Gaining the attention of other customers.

“ **Shh!** Please keep it down. This shouldn’t really make a huge scene.” The maid girl whispered.

“Wow! To think we were near Feli this whole time! What luck!” Lidelle cheered.

“I know, right?!” I then turned to face the maid girl. “So we just have to stay here until closing, right?”

“Yes. I-If you don’t mind.”

“No, no, no. We really don’t mind at all. In fact, we’re grateful that you told us this. Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome, Amitie. I can already tell Feli would be super happy to see you again. Well, gotta go. See you girls later.”

“Thank you.” We both said once more.

“Wow. In just mere hours, we get to see Feli again. This past month has really paid off.”

“Yep. Sure has.” Lidelle agreed.

“ARF! ARF!” Baldanders moved from inside the bag.

“But for now, let’s eat. I’m so hungry.”

“Me too. And this one stack won’t fill me up, either. _If only someone didn’t order for me like I’m a child…_ ” Lidelle said in a snarky tone.

“ ** _*sigh*_** Let it go, Lidelle.” I said with a huge facepalm.

 

**Act 4-3 – Cultural Festival γ**

 

“ ** _*sigh*_** _It’s over! It’s finally over!_ ” I yelled as I flopped onto a chair back in the break room.

“ _I’ve never done so much cooking before. I have to be as good as Mom at this point._ ” Futaba said as she did the same thing and sat next to me.

“And you say it’s always this busy around this time?”

“Well…Sunday is usually our busiest day, right?”

“Right…”

“The fact that Cultural Festival planning always starts on Monday…”

“Okay. I get it. I’m just glad it’s over.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Look on the bright side, you two. At least now all five of us will be focused on planning for the festival.” Naoko said.

“Yeah!” Rin cheered. “And despite Hinata giving the idea, we could suggest to the rest of the class about a café!”

“Where is Hinata, anyway? She just disappeared once the store closed.”

“She said she had to do a quick errand.” Yuuta said. “My guess is that errand is to change out of that maid outfit.”

“Probably.” Naoko said with a shrug.

“Oh, hey. You guys are still here.” Hinata said as she came in the room. And like we all thought, she had changed out of the maid outfit into a cherry-printed t-shirt and some black shorts.

“Yeah, we are. Why you ask?” Futaba asked.

“Well…during the day earlier, I met two people that I really think you guys should see. You especially, Feli.”

“Huh?” I was completely confused.

Hinata let out a sigh before looking out the door.

“She’s in here.”

“Really? Is she really in there?” Asked a new voice. Well…it was new to the others. Me, on the other hand…I’ve heard this voice before.

_Th-That voice! I-It can’t be!_

But it was. The person who owned that voice walked into the room and I nearly went insane with shock.

“ **A-Amitie?!** ” I shouted.

“ **What?!** ” The others shouted after me.

“ **Feli! It really is you!** ” Amitie shouted with glee as she rushed over to hug me. And with a little hesitation, I hugged her back. Still rather confused about all this.

“A-Amitie! Wh-What are you doing here?! **HOW** did you get here?!” I asked.

“Y-Yeah. Funny thing about that…” Said a new voice as she walked into the room with us. Now I was even more shocked.

“ **L-Lidelle?!** **You’re here, too?!** ”

“Good to see you again, Feli.” Lidelle said with a smile.

“Unbelievable. I can’t believe I’m actually seeing you two again. It’s been so long.” I then began to cry a little while still hugging Amitie.

“ _Guys…I’m sorry. I’m sorry I never told you about my problems. I’m sorry that I ran away without telling you. It’s just what happened during that day…_ ”

“Feli. You know damn well I never meant what I said. It was the others who influenced me. But then again, I can’t blame them completely. I should’ve noticed how unhappy you were a long time ago. _But instead, ***sniff*** I let it go to a point where it can’t be forgiven. I feel so horrible and…_ ”

“Amitie…I’ve heard your message.”

“ _Wh…What?_ ”

“That message you left on my phone. It took me a while to read it, but what you said on it…that last bit isn’t true. You’re a great friend. Or else you wouldn’t have come to a completely different world just to find me. I’m truly grateful for that.”

Amitie looked at me while wiping away her tears and calming down a bit.

“W-Wow. Thanks, Feli. You’re a great friend, too. But um…about that message. I-I don’t remember sending it.”

“Huh?”

“In fact, I have no idea what you were talking about.”

“What?”

“Amitie…I think you pocket-dialed Feli by mistake.” Lidelle said.

“Huh?” Amitie pulled out her phone and checked her call history. She then started blushing a bit while rubbing the back of her head. “O-Oh. I-I guess I did. I didn’t even notice. Hehhehheh…”

I didn’t say anything for a while. I was trying to process everything that was just told to me. But once I did figure it out, I did have one thing to say:

“Amitie…you dunce.”

“H-Hey!” And of course, Amitie felt insulted.

“Woah! So many people from a different world! This is so freaking exciting! I might just lose it big!” Rin yelled.

“Rin. Calm down.” Naoko said to her.

“Hey, Feli. So who are your friends?” Amitie asked.

“I’ll take it from here, Feli.” Futaba said as she stood up from her chair. “My name’s Futaba Okazaki. I was the one who found Feli and took her home with me. And now she lives with us. “Us” meaning me, my mom, my dad, and my little brother Yuuta over there.”

“Yo.” Yuuta said.

“I’m Naoko Araki. And the hyper girl next to me is Rin Sugihara.”

“Did you really have to say “hyper girl”?” Rin asked.

“Yes. It fits you well.”

“ ** _*whine*_** ”

“I’m Hinata Moriyama. I was…the girl you saw in the maid outfit.” Hinata started to blush a little.

“Back to being ashamed of it?” I asked.

“Of course, I’m ashamed! I can’t believe you guys tricked me into wearing that! I was so embarrassed!”

“We didn’t trick you. You’re just extremely gullible.” Naoko said with a smile and a few snickers.

“Screw you!”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you all.” Amitie said.

***SHUFFLE***

***SHUFFLE SHUFFLE***

"Hey, Amitie." Hinata said. "You're backpack's been moving on its own for a while now. What's up with that?"

“Huh? Oh, yeah! I forgot! We actually brought a present for you, Feli!”

“A-A present? F-For me?” I was shocked to hear such a thing.

“Trust us, you’ll love it.” Lidelle said.

“Um…okay.”

Amitie placed her backpack down onto the floor and I (for some odd reason) slowly opened the flap to have something jump up onto me. Whatever it was, it sure was heavy. But I recognized this weight on top of me. And I opened my eyes to see…

“ARF! ARF!”

“ **BAL!** ”

I jumped up and started hugging my dog after not doing such a thing for nearly over a month. He really hasn’t changed. Then again, I don’t think he can change.

“ **Oh my God! I missed you SOOO much, Bal! I’m so happy to see you again!** ”

“ARF!”

“W-Woah…” Futaba said.

“H-He’s huge…” Hinata said.

“H-He doesn’t bite, does he?” Yuuta asked.

“No, he doesn’t bite. And as for his size…well, let’s just say he’s not a normal dog.”

“Uh…” The three didn’t know what to say to that.

“Hey, Feli! Can I…”

“No, Rin. You can’t ride him.” I said.

“ _Aw!_ ” Rin whined.

“So, just one more question. How did you two find out about my family’s restaurant?” Futaba asked.

“We actually came here by chance. We were just leaving the store together and we got hungry. So Lidelle suggested this place.”

“Actually…” Lidelle joined in. “ ** _I_** was leaving the store when I found Amitie watching something on those TV’s called anime. And I had to carry the stuff by myself.”

"W-Well, it was a good show. I didn't want to miss it."

“Really? You like anime, Amitie? Which one was it?” Futaba asked.

“Uh…not sure. It was a long one. I think it was…Mahō Shōjo something.”

“ **Oh! You mean** **Magical Girl Cutie Pie Erica’s Heart-throbbing Miracle Cure?!** ”

“Yeah! That’s it!”

“ **Rin and I LOVE that anime!** ”

“ **Really?!** ”

“ **Finally! Another Cutie Pie fan! It’s been really hard to find one for a long time!** ” Rin cheered.

“Well, you got one now!”

“ **Cutie!** ” All three girls shouted with glee as they each held up a peace sign in the air.

…

…

“Wh…What the hell is with that name?” I asked. Now extremely confused on what just happened. And possibly more confused than when Amitie and Lidelle first came through the door.

“I feel you, Feli.” Lidelle said as she stood next to me.

“We all do.” Hinata, Naoko, and Yuuta agreed to the statement as we continued to listen to the three girls talk about the one thing they have in common.

A show with a really weird title.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, it’s official. Magical Girl Cutie Pie Erica’s Heart-throbbing Miracle Cure is by far the stupidest thing I’ve ever come up with. I just can’t say that and NOT laugh. What was I thinking? Lmao.
> 
> Anyway, Feli has finally reunited with Amitie, Lidelle, and Baldanders. Now she can live a happy normal life, right? Well, you would think. But there’s still more. Find out next time. Thanks for reading. Later.


	12. Act 4-4 Cultural Festival δ

***MEANWHILE, BACK IN PRIMP…***

 

“ _Sig…_ ”

***Zzz…***

“ _Sig…_ ”

***Zzz…***

“ **SIG!** ”

“ _H-Huh? Wh-What?_ ”

“Wake up, you dunce. Class is over.” Raffina said to me.

“Oh. Is it? Okay.”

I grabbed my bag and placed it over my shoulder as I headed out the classroom. Or at least, tried to. Raffina grabbed my right arm and wouldn’t let go.

“Hold it, you. Didn’t pay any attention to what Ms. Accord said?”

“Uh…” I struggled to think of a response.

“ ** _*sigh*_** Of course, you didn't." Raffina sounded agitated. "We're supposed to help Melody look for Amitie, remember?"

“Amitie is missing?”

“ **Are you serious?! She and Lidelle have been gone for a month!** ”

…

“Oh, yeah.” I said after thinking about it.

“ _Ugh. I can’t understand why she has a crush on you._ ”

“What?”

“Forget it. It’s not important. Come on. The others are waiting for us.”

“Huh…” I said as Raffina finally let my arm loose and I followed her outside the school. As we continued walking, though, something came to mind.

“Hey, uh…Wuffina.”

“ **It’s Raffina!** ” Raffina yelled.

“Since when did you care about Amitie?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean don’t you hate her guts or something like that?”

Raffina went silent for a bit.

“L-Look, she may be annoying at times. But I’ve grown to accept that trait of hers. It’s no big deal that I’m out here looking for her.”

“Huh. Wonder why you can’t be like that for Feli.”

“Feli? Why are you bringing that nutjob up?”

…

…

“No reason.” I said after thinking about it.

Raffina went on to stare at me with one eye closed and her lips pierced up together. It felt…rather unnerving.

“What?”

“ ***grunt*** I don’t know why, but I feel like you’re lying.”

“Lying?”

“I feel like you know where Amitie is. And Feli’s got something to do with it, huh?”

…

“Wuffina. You’re confusing me.”

“ ** _*sigh*_** You’re unbelievable.” Raffina said with a facepalm. “ **And for God’s sake, it’s Raffina!** **My name starts with an R!** ”

“Really?”

“ **Yes, damnit!** ”

…

…

“Oh.” Was all I said.

The two of us eventually went to the park, where Klug, Arle, Carbuncle, and Ringo were waiting for us. I noticed that they had made missing person flyers with pictures of Amitie and Lidelle on them.

Oddly enough, it was just those two.

“Hey, what happened to Melody?” Raffina asked.

“She had to work. She said that she’s really grateful for us doing this for her.” Arle said.

“ ** _*sigh*_** She couldn’t get the day off or something? I mean, we’re looking for her daughter, for God’s sake.”

“Well, whatever.” Klug said. “The four of us can handle it on our own.”

“Uh…four?” Ringo asked. “But there’s six of us.”

“I know. But I say four because **_this_** one over probably won’t do a damn thing.”

“ **What the hell did you just say?!** ” Raffina yelled.

“Geez. It’s like your hearing gets worse every day. I’m tired of repeating myself all the time. Can’t your rich-ass get it fixed or something?”

“ ** _Why you cocky little…_** ”

“Guys. Please don’t start now.” Arle said.

“ **Hngh! Gah! Come on, damnit!** ” We looked over to see someone struggling to drag around this big garbage bag. This woman must be new. Because she looked like someone I’ve never seen before. Her voice sounds familiar, though. Not sure why.

“Isn’t that Feli’s stepmom?” Ringo asked.

_Feli’s stepmom? I think I’m starting to remember now. What’s she doing with that bag?_

“That bag looks huge. What do you think she’s doing with it, Carby?” Arle asked Carbuncle.

“Guu guu.”

“Yeah, me neither.”

“Huh.” I started walking over towards the woman and soon after got her attention.

“Need any help?” I asked.

“Y-Yeah. Sure can. You’re willing to take this to the dump for me?”

_The dump? What’s in there?_

“Sure.” I said nonchalantly.

"Heh-heh. Thanks, kid. You're a real nice one. If only this damn brat I once knew was like you. Probably wouldn't hate her existence so much. Now to set up my new beauty lounge! _Hahahahaha!_ " The woman laughed cheerfully as she walked off back the way she came. Seemingly, in a good mood.

I stared at the bag for a bit. Then I brought it over my shoulders as I turned to face the others.

“I’m going home.” I said.

“Huh?” The group of five were confused.

"Hey, you idiot! We're supposed to be looking for Amitie and Lidelle!" Klug yelled.

“Something came up.” I said before walking away from them all. Exiting the park shortly after.

It honestly felt weird carrying a garbage bag filled with who knows what around town like this. But I’m really curious about this. Which is rare for me. Normally, I wouldn’t care for anything useless it’s one of two things: bugs and my sister. But this bag really changed all that. Not sure if it’s for better or for worse, though.

“Shigu.”

“Hey, Chu.” I said to my 11-year-old sister who I had just ran into.

“Uh…Shigu. What’s with the garbage bag?”

“It’s…kinda complicated, Chu.” I said.

Chu only looked at me with a really confused look on her unamused face.

 

**Act 4-4 – Cultural Festival δ**

 

“ ** _*yawn*_** _I’m so tired._ ”

“Of course, you are.” Futaba said to me as we were walking to school together. “You were up most of the night playing with your dog. What was his name again?”

“His name’s Baldanders. But everyone him Bal for short. And I couldn’t help it. I haven’t seen him in a little over a month. _Cuddling that wittle cutie was the best moment of my life._ ”

“Right…” Futaba was a little creeped out with how I acted during the end. I rarely show that side of me. My girly side, that is. “By the way, how did you get him anyway?”

“Well, I…” I went silent for a bit. “…I kinda summoned him by accident.”

“ ** _summoned_** him? From where?”

…

“Fr-From Hell.”

“ **From Hell?!** ”

“ **Shh!** Don’t yell it out, you lunatic!” I yelled as I covered Futaba’s mouth.

“Feli! Why do you have a hellhound for a pet?!”

“Like I said, it was an accident. But I don’t regret it, though. Bal was my only source of sanity while living under the roof of that vile woman I had to call my stepmom.”

“I see…” Futaba soon went silent on me. I looked at her and saw that she had a depressing look on her face. This was pretty rare for my sights. Ever since the day I met her, she’s always had a cheerful smile. So to see her sad was…rather odd.

“Hey. What’s wrong?” I asked.

It took a bit of delay for Futaba to say something. But once she took a deep breath, here’s what she said…

“Hey, Feli. I’ve been wondering…if you had a chance to go back to your world, would you?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I mean…if by some stroke of luck you found a way back home, would you take that chance?”

“Why would I? I’ve got nothing waiting for me there. I’m better off here with you guys.”

…

…

“You still don’t look satisfied.” I said after a brief silence.

“Well…from what Lidelle told us last night, you apparently got here because of a solar eclipse. And I checked and the next one’s after the Cultural Festival. Amitie and Lidelle are gonna have to go back eventually and…”

“Futaba. I already told you. I’m not leaving. I’m better off here than I was at Primp. And I have you and the others to thank for that. Sure, Amitie and Lidelle will have to leave at some point. But we’ll still keep in contact. We are still friends.”

…

…

“Still?” I asked after another brief silence.

“You’re not getting it. Just think about it for a second.”

“What’s not to get? What else do you want to know?”

Futaba went silent again. Letting out a really long depressed sigh before continuing on with this conversation.

“What if, by some stroke of luck or who knows what else…your problems in Primp would just go away?”

“Huh? Go away?” I was confused.

“What I mean is…that bitch of a stepmom you have. What if she finally got what she deserved and got arrested for what she’s been doing to you? Would you go back then? That’s what I mean.”

“I-I see…” What Futaba said really got me thinking. As I never thought of the possibility until just now. If my stepmom really did get arrested, no doubt it would be the single greatest moment of my life.

But…would I really go back to Primp for that reason? I mean, there’s still the problem of everybody fearing and hating me. And then there’s the fact that I’ll never see Lemres again. My one true…love?

_Why did I question that?_

“O-Okay, Futaba. I get it. Can I give an answer later? I really need to think about this.”

“It would be nice if you did. Thanks, Feli.”

“Y-Yeah. S-Sure.” I said now having a sad and depressing look on my own face.

 

When we told the rest of the class about the idea of a café, they all agreed to the idea. As for the theme, a bunch of ideas kept flowing around. And eventually, it came down to a sweets café. With each of us taking shifts every hour.

“Alright. That should do it.” Nakamura said. “By the way, who’s idea was this?”

“Believe it or not, Sensei. It was Hinata’s idea.” Futaba said.

…

…

“Really? Moriyama-san came up with it?” Nakamura was beyond shocked. Along with most of the class.

“I know, right? It’s unbelievable.” Naoko said.

“We were blown away ourselves.” I added.

“We even said that Hinata can’t be girly! And she wore a maid outfit all day yesterday just to prove us wrong!” Rin yelled.

“A-A maid outfit?!” The rest of the class were now completely blown away.

“ **Rin! Shut up!** ” Hinata yelled. Her cheeks were bright red from embarrassment.

***INSERT CLASSIC JAPANESE SCHOOL BELL CHIME HERE***

“Alright. Class is over.” Nakamura said. “You girls have until 5 to gather your things if you plan on spending nights here. After that, no one leaves without a teacher present. Got it?”

“Yes, Sensei.” The class responded.

As the all-girl class began to pack their bags and move the desk to the side, the five of us got together and began walking out the school talking about the upcoming festival.

The only problem with that was…I wasn't really listening. Thanks to Futaba, I currently had something else in my mind.

_Could it…could it really happen? What am I saying? Of course, it will. Now that Amitie knows the truth, no doubt she's going to tell the police back in Primp._

_But…when that happens…should I really go back with them? Or stay here with Futaba? She, her friends, and her family have done lots to help me feel comfortable in this world. But honestly…I’ve been feeling kinda homesick recently._

_I know that I would have literally nothing waiting for me back at that shithole of a town. But said shithole is what I’ve been used to ever since my real parents left me. It was surprisingly peaceful there. And I do have Amitie, Lidelle, and Bal as friends. So even with Lemres gone forever, I still got them to keep me company…_

_…_

**_Tch!_ ** _There I go again! Questioning my love for Lemres! Why do I keep doing that?!_

“Feli…Feli!”

“H-Huh?”

"You were spacing out real deep just now. Are you feeling alright?" Naoko asked.

“Oh, um…yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking of something.”

“Thinking of what?” Hinata asked.

“Um…it’s kind of a secret.”

“ _What?! Again?! Why do you have so many secrets, Feli?!_ ” Rin whined.

“Rin. Just let her have it.” Futaba said to her. “Everyone has at least one secret they rather not tell.”

“ ** _*sigh*_** _Yeah, I guess._ ”

The five of us continued walking to grab our stuff and whatever supplies we needed to make the café a thing. I’m glad that Futaba said that just now.

…

Because honestly, I don’t even know what I’m thinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Cultural Festival is near and Feli suddenly has a lot to think about. What will she do when Amitie, Lidelle, and Baldanders will have to go back to Primp soon? Stay in Japan? Go back to Primp? Some other third thing? Who knows. You just have to keep reading to find out. Later.


	13. Act 4-5 – Cultural Festival Ω

“Shigu. What is all this stuff?” Chu asked me as we stepped inside our house. I went into the living room and placed the bag dead center of the room.

“Just some stuff I want to look at.” I said. I then opened the bag up and inside was exactly what I thought it was.

“Huh? These are all stuff a girl would have.”

“Not just any girl, Chu. These are Feli’s.”

“Feli’s? Why do you have her stuff, Shigu?”

“Hold on.” I said as I took out my phone and started dialing a number in my contacts.

* * *

 

  ***RING* *RING* *RING***

“Hey, Amitie. You’re phone’s ringing.” Lidelle called out to me.

"Aw, really? I just got out of the bath. I still have a towel on."

“Well, answer it and then you can get dressed afterward.”

“Fine, fine.” I picked up my phone answered it without even giving any thought on who it can be.

That is until…I heard that voice.

“Hello.”

“ _Amitie._ ”

“ **S-Sig?!** ”

* * *

 

**_*scream of shock*_ **

“Why is Amytee screaming?” Chu asked me.

“I dunno.”

* * *

 

 “ ** _L-Lidelle! T-Take the phone! I-I gotta get dressed!_** ” I silently screamed.

“ _Why? It’s not like he can see you naked. It’s a phone, not video chat._ ”

“ ** _Just do it!"_**

“ ** _*sigh*_** _Fine._ ” Lidelle took the phone from me while I went digging through my bag to find some clothes to put on.

“Hey, Sig.”

“ _Lidelle? Why was Amitie screaming just now?"_

“Um, it’s nothing to be worried about. We’re doing fine.”

“ _Okay…?"_

* * *

 

 I decided to just leave it alone.

“ _So, what’s up? We haven’t spoken to each other in about a month. Are the others wondering about us?_ ”

“Kinda. We’ve been throwing search parties for you guys. But only you two. They don’t seem to care about Feli.”

“ _Figures._ ” I heard Amitie’s voice.

“ _So, does that mean you’re done getting dressed?_ ”

“Getting dressed?” We both asked.

* * *

 

 “ **Lidelle!** ” I shouted in anger.

“Why are you getting mad at me? All that time I gave you and you only have on a t-shirt and panties.”

“I-I couldn’t find any pants, okay?! J-Just give me the phone!”

“Fine, here. I’m going in the bath. Let me know what Sig says.”

“Fine. Whatever.” I then went back to the phone. “Hehhehheh. Sorry, Sig. I had to uh…do something.”

“ _Okay?_ ” I could tell that Sig was highly confused.

“So. What’s up? It’s been a while since we last saw each other.”

“ _Yeah. It has. I kinda miss you._ ”

“ **Y-You miss me?!** ”

_C-Calm down, Amitie. Not now. Now is definitely not a good time._

“A-Anyway…how’s it going?”

“ _I ran into Feli’s stepmom today._ ”

“Y-Y…You did?”

“ _She was dragging a garbage bag with her to the dump. I offered to do it for her. And when she was far enough, I brought it home with me._ ”

_Why do I have a bad feeling about this?_

“Sig. Pl-Please don’t tell me…”

“ _It’s filled with Feli’s stuff._ ”

“ ** _*sigh*_** I said don’t tell me.”

“ _You were serious?_ ”

“W-Well…no. The fact is that I can’t believe that woman was seriously dumping Feli’s stuff. She really does not care about her.”

“ _Chu and I are currently going through it. So far, it’s just a bunch of occult stuff and clothes and…_ ”

“ _An unopened pack of panties._ ” I heard Chu’s voice. “ _They look like they can fit me, too._ ”

“ **Chu! Put those back!** ” I shouted.

“ _We’ll keep them all here until you guys get back. If that helps._ ” Sig said.

“That would help. Thanks, Sig. Feli would really appreciate it.”

…

…

“Hello? Sig?”

“ _Who’s Feli again?_ ”

“I’m hanging up now.” I hung up the phone and pinched my nose together in frustration.

_Why does the boy I have a crush on have such a bad memory?_

* * *

 

 "So, what do we do with this stuff?" Chu asked.

“I guess we just keep it until the girls come back.”

“Come back from where?”

“I dunno. Some different world of sorts to find Feli.”

“ _Woah._ ”

“ _Guu._ ”

“Guu?”

“I didn’t say that.” Chu said with a look just as confused as mine.

We looked around and finally saw two yellow bunny-like ears sticking up from the window. The ears looked panicked as they quickly went down when we noticed them.

“Chu.”

“I got it.” Chu said as she stood up. “ **Nebula!** ”

She then teleported out of the house. Seconds later, she reappeared holding Carbuncle tight in her hands.

“Guu guu! Guu guu!”

“St-Stop squirming, you.” Chu said.

***KNOCK* *KNOCK* KNOCK***

“I got it.” I said as I got up to answer the door. When I opened it, standing in front of me where the two people I was expecting to see.

“H-Hey, Sig. C-Can I get Carby back?” Arle asked nervously.

"Only if you tell me why you guys were spying on us."

“What do you think, Sig? You know where Amitie is, do you?” Ringo asked.

“So what if I do? It’s not like you guys are gonna care.”

“Sig. We heard you say Feli’s name. Does she have anything to do with Amitie and Lidelle’s disappearance?” Arle asked.

“Yeah. You could say that. But like I said, it’s not like you guys will care.”

“Sig…”

“And besides. Amitie told me not to tell you guys.”

“Sig please, come on.” Ringo said. “We just want to find Amitie.”

“Yeah. And we’ve been feeling bad about what we said. To her **AND** Feli. And if both of them disappeared because of that, then we want to make it up to them.” Arle said.

“So, can you please tell us? We miss her.”

_…_

_They do sound like they mean it…_

“Sig?”

**_*sigh*_ ** _Sorry, Ammy._

“Alright. I’ll tell you.”

“Yay!” Both girls cheered. “Thanks, Sig!”

“Guu guu guu! Guu guu guu!”

“So…can I get Carby back?” Arle asked.

“Chu. You can let go of him now.”

“Alright, Shigu.” Chu said as she let Carbuncle free from her grasps.

“Guu. Guu guu guu.”

“Yeah. It didn’t work, after all.” Arle said to him.

“So I’ll tell you. Just let me clean up the stuff in the living room.”

“Why did you bring all that junk here?” Ringo asked.

“I’ll get to it.”

* * *

 

 “So what did Sig want?” Lidelle asked as she came out of the bathroom. Wearing more clothes than I am right now.

“He said that he ran into Feli’s stepmother today. She was caring a garbage bag with her and it had all of Feli’s stuff inside.”

“What?! She was trying to throw her stuff away?!”

“Yeah. Luckily, Sig tricked her into giving it to him. And now, he has it at his house.”

"Well, that's a relief. If Feli does decide to come back with us, at least she'll have that waiting for her."

“Yeah, I guess. Hey, didn’t she and the others say that their Cultural Festival starts tomorrow?”

“Yeah. You still want to go?”

“Of course! I wanna see what school Feli’s been going to for the past month!”

“ ** _*giggle*_** Yeah. I am curious, too.”

“Alrighty! Then it’s settled! Let’s get to bed so we can get up early.”

“Alright. But just one thing first.”

“Huh?”

“Amitie…please find some pants to wear.”

…

…

“ _F…Fiddlesticks._ ” I said as I started blushing hard. Only now remembering that my panties are visible for all to see.

 

**Act 4-5 – Cultural Festival Ω**

 

This was it. Saturday. The big day. The start of the Cultural Festival. We as a class had worked on setting up the sweets café nearly all week. Taking breaks for food, baths, and sleep if necessary.

And now it was done. And just in time, too. Doors open around 8:00 am or so.

“We’re about to open. Is everyone ready?” One girl, who we knew as the class rep, asked the class.

“Ready!”

"Tables set, decorations are up, food being cooked. Are our first shift of maids ready?"

“Ready!”

“ **Why am I wearing a maid outfit again?!** ” Hinata yelled. Not only was she wearing a maid outfit again, but she was wearing the same one she wore at the restaurant that Sunday. Frills and all.

“Aw come on, Moriyama-san. Sugihara-san said you looked really good in it.”

“ _Oh, did she now?_ ” Hinata angerly looked at Rin, who gave a quick smile before explaining herself.

“W-Well you do, Hinata. Why do you think I’m wearing one?” Rin was indeed wearing a maid outfit. It was much like Hinata’s, but it was turquoise to match with her palmtree-shaped hair.

“That’s because you guys tricked me!”

“Again, we didn’t trick you. You’re just gullible.” Naoko said. She was wearing normal clothes and not a maid outfit.

“And again, screw you.”

“ _F-Futaba! Y-You can’t be serious!_ ”

“H-Hey, don’t blame me! Blame Mom! She apparently had an extra one stuffed in her closet!”

“ ** _*whine*_** _I look ridiculous!_ ”

“Kuromi-san. Are you finished yet?” The class rep asked.

“ _W-Well, I…_ ”

“Yeah, she’s ready.” Futaba said.

“ **D-Don’t answer for me!** ”

“Come on, guys. We’re about to open soon.” Class rep said.

“ _B-B-But…_ ”

“Come on, you.” Futaba said as she pulled on my arm.

“ **W-Wait! F-Futaba!** ”

Too late. We had come out from behind the curtain. And everyone saw the maid outfit I was wearing. It was **NOTHING** like Hinata's and Rin's. Mine's was a mix of pink and white. With white angel wings on my back, a halo on my head, and pink  & white boots with red hearts on each side. There was even a heart-shaped hairpin in my hair.

The entire room was silent for a bit. Dead silent.

“Oh. My. God.” Naoko said.

"F-Feli. U-Uh…" Hinata was lost for words.

“ **Feli! You look super duper cute!** ” Rin wasn’t the same way, though.

“H-How is **_this_** cute?! I look like the birthchild of a maid and an angel! Nothing about this makes sense!”

“Actually, I agree with Sugihara-san.” Class rep said. “You do look cute in that, Kuromi-san.”

“Yeah. Almost like a cute little doll.” Another girl added.

“H-Higashi-san. Please don’t say “little”.”

“Right. Sorry, Kuromi-san.”

“But they are right, Feli. You do look cute in that. Despite it being a little ridiculous.” Futaba said. She too was wearing normal clothes. In fact, she was with me putting this thing on.

“And you said that both of these were in your mother’s closet, Okazaki-san?” Class rep asked.

“Yeah. Apparently, they were there since my bother was little. She never bothered returning them. And they just happen to fit Hinata and Feli respectfully.”

“We still feel ridiculous.” Hinata and I said.

“Yeah well get used to it, you two. The festival starts now!”

“Hey, wait. Where’s Nakamura-sensei?” One girl asked.

“She says she’s running a little late. She’ll be here soon.” Class rep answered. “Alright, girls! Let’s have the best Cultural Festival ever!”

“ **Yeah!** ” We all cheered.

_And so it finally begins. My first ever Cultural Festival._

 

We’re two hours in and I couldn’t believe how populated the school has gotten. Almost every part of it was packed with visitors from all over the city. Some were parents of the other classmates, and I got to meet some of them. I was always labeled as “the foreigner girl”, which offended me a little.

Mainly because I still don’t know what a foreigner is.

The café was extremely busy, too. I was cooking all the food and sometimes helped Hinata, Rin, and two other girls in maid outfits deliver it to the right tables. And thanks to me helping Futaba with the cooking at the restaurant, I’ve gotten really good at cooking. What I can make surprises even me at times.

“Thank you for coming.” I said with a bow as two more customers left the room.

“Hey, Feli.” Futaba called out. “Look who I ran into.”

Standing next to her were Amitie and Lidelle. Both had a bunch of stuff in their hands, around their necks, in a goody-bag, or all the above. So it was clear to me that they were here a while.

“Hey, guys.”

“Wow, Feli. That outfit. It looks really cute on you.” Amitie said.

“Does it really? It kinda looks like if a maid and Cupid mated a couple times.”

“Aw, come on. It really does look cute. Right, Lidelle?”

“ ** _*snicker*_** Y-Yeah. I-It really **_*chuckle*_** l-looks cute on you **_*giggle*_** F-Feli. **_*extreme laughter*_** ”

“I’ll curse you.” I said while sounding insulted.

“Sorry, sorry.” Lidelle finally stopped laughing.

“Anyway, we were about to explore the festival some more. Wanna come with?” Futaba asked.

“Sure. But I really want to change out of this outfit first. I’m not going outside in this thing.”

“Understandable.” All three girls said.

 I changed into this white sweater with a black tank that has the right side showing a little. On the sweater was a pink design of a ball with a disproportional cross on my right side. I got it when we went shopping after school one day. The others explained to me that the design is from Super Smash Bros., a fighting game in this world.

I had no idea what they were talking about. And told them that I’m only buying it cause it looked cool.

Along with that, I was wearing some black shorts and, well…I kept the boots from the maid outfit on. They’re really cute, okay? Lay off.

“You know. You really do look like you fit in this world, Feli.” Amitie said.

“Do I really? I mean, I’ve only been here a month. Not that long to seemingly phase into this world’s lifestyle.”

“I can relate to that.” Lidelle said. “No matter how many times I come here, I just can’t seem to get used to it.”

“Huh? No matter how many times?” The rest of us asked.

“Lidelle, you mean you’ve come to Japan before?” Futaba asked.

“Yeah. Multiple times. In fact, I was the one who discovered the solar eclipse thing.”

“Really?!” We asked.

“Yep. And by the way, Futaba. Is “Japan” really the name of this world?”

“I thought it was “Tokyo”.” I said.

  “Wait, hold on. “Japan”? “Tokyo”? Are those even words?” Amitie asked.

“Y-You guys…” Futaba said with a facepalm.

 

The four of us went outside the school building where the food and game stands were at. There were so many of them. The food stands had food that I've never seen before. And the games looked pretty fun, too.

“Woah! So this is what a Cultural Festival looks like?!” I asked in pure glee.

“Yep. We do this every year. And they get better every single time.” Futaba said.

“Trust us, Feli. This Cultural Festival thing really is super fun!” Amitie cheered. “There’s so much to do that we’ll be here all day!”

“Really? Then I hope you don’t mind me tagging along.”

…

…

_N…N-No way. Th-That voice. It can’t be. It just can’t be…_

We looked over to our left and saw someone I thought was gone from my life forever. But apparently…I was wrong.

“ _L…_ ”

“ _Le…_ ”

“ **LEMRES!!!** ” I shouted with total excitement as I rushed over to hug my one true love.

“Hello there, Feli. Long time no see.” Lemres said as he patted my head.

“ **I-I thought you were gone forever! Y-You were here this whole time?!** ”

“Yes. Indeed I was. Sorry for lying to you, Feli. I just had my reasons.”

“Huh? Reasons?”

“Reasons I can’t really disclose right now. Maybe later, though. But for now, let’s just have fun today okay, Feli?”

“ **Oh, yes! Anything for you, my dear Lemres! _Fufufufu!_** ”

“Wow, Feli. Obsessed much?” Futaba asked.

“ _N-No! Sh-Shut up! Wh-What do you know?!_ ” I yelled as I turned to her with an extremely blushed face.

“I didn’t know you wanted to come, Lemres.” Lidelle said.

“I did. But you three left the place so fast that I couldn’t find it for a while. Had to ask for directions to get here.”

“ _Hehhehheh._ Sorry, Lemres. I was just so excited, you know.” Amitie said while rubbing the back of her head.

“Wait, the three of you? Now that I think about it, where’s Bal?” I asked.

“Don’t worry. We left him with Naoko. She’s surprisingly good with dogs.”

“I see.”

“Well, anyway…let’s go! Let’s go! I wanna play that one game again!” Amitie then ran off in the opposite direction. Ditching us in front of the school.

“H-Hey! Amitie! Wait up!” Lidelle yelled as she ran after her.

“Don’t hurt yourself now.” Lemres said as he walked at a normal pace to catch up with the other two.

“So. Is he your boyfriend?” Futaba asked me.

“ ** _N-No!_** _I-I mean I want him to be! Uh…i-it’s complicated._ ” I started to blush.

“He looks a bit older than you. Almost like an adult.

“ _H-He…He is an adult._ ”

“Feli…”

“L-Like I said. It’s complicated.”

_Really, really complicated._

“Well…let’s just have fun for now. Okay?”

…

“Y-Yeah. Let’s have fun.” I said with a small smile on my internally confused face.

 

**_End of Act 4_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feli unexpectedly reunites with Lemres as Act 4 comes to an end. Which means two more acts and this story will end too. But before Act 5 begins, the story will take a short break. Swapping this out with Love of Puyo Puyo Fever for a while.
> 
> Updated my bio a little. And revealed that this story is part of a series I’m calling “Special of Puyo Puyo”. Other stories include Dream Land Invasion, Frozen Hearts, and Magical Alteration (which by the way, a rewrite is currently in production). Future stories (that are not one-shots) that don’t have the “Love of Puyo Puyo” title will be part of this series as well.
> 
> Thank you all for reading. Later.


	14. Act 5-1 – The Cultural Festival’s Sudden Battle

**Act 5 Prologue**

 

“…And that explains everything. I think.”

“No way. Is this for real?” Arle asked.

“Feli’s been abused and neglected by her stepmother?” Ringo asked.

“Yeah. At least that’s what I heard. I hear her cry at night when I’m out looking for bugs. She says something about her stepmom beating her and not feeding her and taking her panties.”

“ **T-Taking her panties?!** ”

“Or something like that.”

“S-So then. When we said those things about her, on top of what she dealt with at home…”

“It pushed her over the edge. And then she ran away.” Arle finished Ringo’s thought. “Gee. Now I feel really bad for her.

“I didn’t even know she was adopted. But now that I think about it, she and her stepmom look nothing alike.”

“Poor Feli.” Chu said.

“So now we know why Amitie and Lidelle disappeared all of a sudden. They’re looking for Feli, aren’t they?” Ringo asked me.

“Yeah. Pretty much. Lidelle said that she probably went to a different world by accident. So they went there to look for her.”

“ ** _*sniff*_** _And all that mean stuff I said to Amitie. I bet she hates me now._ ” Arle began to cry a little while Carbuncle tried to comfort her.

“Well, now that we know all this, we should pass this on to the others.” Ringo said.

“Is that really a good idea?” I asked.

“Shigu does have a point.” Chu added. “Wuffina and Glasses really hated Feli. I don’t think they’ll care that she suffered so much.”

“Well, we have to try! Anything to show them how sorry we are! Come on, guys! Please!” Arle yelled.

I was really unsure about this. I already broke Ammy's promise of not telling the others. And judging on how this played out so far, it looks like they plan on fixing it, too. And I don't think they'll take no for an answer.

“Yeah. I guess.” I said after thinking about it.

“Alright! We’ll tell them tomorrow!” Arle cheered.

“Guu gugu!”

“Thanks again for telling us, Sig.” Ringo said.

I only replied with a simple nod as the two girls and yellow rabbit thing got up and left my house.

“Hey, Shigu. Why didn’t you tell them that  Feli may not want to come back?” Chu asked me.

“I wanted to. But for some reason…I couldn’t.”

 

**Act 5-1 – The Cultural Festival’s Sudden Battle**

 

“ _Fufufufu! I’ve won so much stuff! I didn’t think winning these games would be so easy! **I could win every single prize here! Fufufufu!**_ ”

“Now now, Feli. Let’s not be greedy.” Lemres said.

“I’m not being greedy. What I’m saying is true.”

“I don’t understand how you’re not tired right now. You were just going all out in that mystery box not too long ago.” Futaba said.

“What, that thing? It was nothing. All you had to do was throw the big baseballs at those giant question mark panels. No big deal.”

“I’m mainly surprised you’re so strong, Feli.” Amitie said.

“And fast, too.” Lidelle added.

“Yeah. I guess that’s one benefit of being short.”

“I can agree with that.”

“Huh. I’ve always thought you three were so good at these athletic games because you’re flat chested.” Futaba said.

“ **Tch!** ” All three of us sprung a nerve.

_That word. That damn word._

“ **W-We’re not flat chested!** ” Amitie yelled.

“ **W-We have breasts! Th-They’re just hard to see under these clothes!** ” Lidelle yelled.

“ **H-Honestly, Futaba! Open your eyes more!** ” I yelled.

All three of us were blushed-red from embarrassment that she made such a claim like that.

“Really?” Futaba then turned to Lemres. “Do you see it?”

“I tend to stay out of conversations like these.”

“Fair enough.”

_Lemres, you kind soul._

 

After walking around some more, we came across a crowd of people gathering around an outdoor stage. The stage itself was decorated with pink & white stars each blinking alternately. And above them was a sign that I couldn't read due to it being in the language Futaba knows so well. Japanese, I think it's called.

“What’s going on here?” I asked.

“No way! It’s starting already?!” Futaba yelled in glee.

“What is?”

“Rin! Get down here! It’s about to start!” Futaba called Rin on her phone and completely ignored me in the process.

“ ** _What?! It is?! Damnit! And I have to change first! Hinata! Rip my clothes off!_** ”

“ ** _What?! No! Just change like a normal person!_** ” Hinata yelled in the background. “ ** _*sigh*_** _We’ll be there in a second._ " The phone then hanged up, leaving me still confused about what was happening.

“Geez, Futaba. I could hear you all the way from the food stands.” Naoko said as she, along with Bal peaking in his bag, walked up to us.

“Okay, one…that was Rin. And two…if that was me, I would have a pretty good reason to shout right now.”

“And that reason is…” Lidelle asked.

“Oh, right. You guys don’t know. There’s going to be a live-action performance during the festival.”

“Live-action? You mean like a play?” Amitie asked.

“Well, kinda like that. The only difference is live-action can be really cheesy at times. But that’s what makes them enjoyable.”

“I see.”

“And guess who’s doing the performance, Amitie?”

“Uh…I don’t know. Who?”

“ **IT’S ERICA-CHAN! WE GET TO MEET ERICA-CHAN!** ” Rin shouted with glee as she came out of nowhere. She was followed by Hinata. And both of them were wearing normal clothes instead of the maid outfits from earlier.

“ **Wait, really?! Erica’s performing here?! And we get to meet her?!** ” And now Amitie was shouting.

“ **Yes!** ” Both Futaba and Rin shouted together.

“ **Awesome!** ”

“Wait a sec. Erica? Isn’t she…”

“…The girl from the anime with the ridiculously long and stupid name? Yes, Feli. It’s the same Erica.” Naoko answered my question.

“Aw, geez.”

“Huh. So they actually got the actress who plays Erica to come here?” Lemres asked. “That’s a pretty bold move.”

“ **Yep! It sure is, uh…** ” Rin finally calmed down once she noticed Lemres standing next to me. And grew a confused look on her face.

“Hey, Feli. Who’s the tall green dude?” She asked me.

“This is Lemres. He’s also from the same world us three came from. Although, he’s been here longer than we have.”

“Woah. That’s pretty cool.” Naoko said.

“Indeed, it is.” Hinata added.

“ **Right?! More other-world…** ”

***POW***

“Keep it down, you loudmouth loon!” Hinata said after hitting Rin in the head for almost exposing our secret.

“ _R-Right. S-Sorry._ ” Rin silently said while rubbing her head.

“ _Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! The moment is finally here! The protector of all things cutie here to greet you all! So put your hands together! And give a big cutie pie welcome to the one, the only…Erica-chan!_ ”

**_*Really loud girly screams from the only three Erica fans in the group*_ **

“ _Ow…_ ” Hinata said.

“ _My ears…_ ” Naoko said.

“ _They won’t stop ringing…_ ” Lidelle said.

“ _What I would do for some earplugs right now…_ ” I said.

“ ** _*whine*_** ” I could her Bal whining from inside the bag. I bet his ears hurt as well.

“Hold on, Bal. It’ll soon be over. Hopefully.” I said to him.

"Hello, everyone!" A girl had come up on stage. Wearing the same frilly pink dress from that same day I first saw it. The only minor difference was there was a little bit of white mixed in. The same went for the boots. Her dark purple hair was tied up into a ponytail. Making her orange eyes visible for all to see.

And then there was her wand. It was while with a yellow holding rod at the bottom. And the tip had a red heart with wings on each side.

I seriously couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

_Th-This… **THIS** is Erica?!_

**_*More really loud girly screams from the only three Erica fans in the group*_ **

“ **Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!** ” Futaba shouted with glee.

“ **It’s Erica! It really is Erica!** ” Amitie shouted in the same way.

“ **Yes! Oh, my God! This is so fucking awesome!** ” Rin shouted like the other two. Only louder.

“Jesus Christ, you three. Are you trying to blow out our eardrums or something?” Hinata asked.

 “ **Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!** ”

“They’re not even listening.”

“Just let them fangirl it out, Hinata. It’s only for 30 minutes.” Naoko said.

“ ** _*sigh*_** Yeah, I guess.”

“Hmm…so that’s Erica?” Lemres whispered to himself.

“What’s wrong, Lemres?” I asked.

“Hm? Oh, it’s nothing to be concerned about, Feli. Just enjoy the show.”

“Um…okay, then.”

_Something’s off about Lemres. He said he’s been here longer than I have, working on something that he can’t tell yet. What could that be? ***Gasp*** Could it be?! Is he finally accepting my love?!_

_…_

_…_

_Or…something else in entirely. It seems more likely and I honestly wouldn’t mind…_

**_Wait, what the hell?! What am I saying?! Why do I keep saying that?! I love Lemres! And I’ll always will!_ **

_…_

_M-Maybe?_

“I’m so glad to be here at the annual Haranishi High Cultural Festival! I sure hope we could some cutie pie fun and…”

“ ** _Grahahaha!_** ”

Then three more people came onto the stage. They were wearing black monster suits with multiple eyes and a gaping open mouth.

"So this is where you ran off too, Erica-chan?" One monster asked.

“Gah! Why are you three here?!”

“Why else?” Another monster said. “We’ve come to defeat you and take you back to our leader.”

“We won’t let you get away this time. Prepare to be defeated.” The third monster said.

“ _Ooh! This is getting good!_ ” Amitie whispered in glee.

“Seriously?” Lidelle and I asked her.

“No way! Three against one?! That’s not fair!” Ericka continued to speak through the mic over her ear. “I could really use some help. Which one of you brave cuties wants to help me in battle? There’s a special prize if we win.”

“ **No…WAY!!!** " The fangirl trio shouted. Then they all started raising their hands and waving them rapidly in hopes to get picked.

“ _You have got to be kidding me…_ ” Lidelle said under her breath. “You three aren’t too old?”

“ **Shut up! We need this!** ” Rin yelled.

“Lidelle’s right, Rin.” Lemres said. “It’s highly unlikely that any of you will get picked since most of the audience are children.”

“ **I don’t care! I’m going to be picked and fight together with Erica-chan!** ”

“ **As if! It’s going to be me!** ” Futaba shouted.

“ **No me! This is a dream come true!** ” Amitie shouted.

“If we leave now, can we pretend we don’t know these three?” Naoko asked Hinata.

“I’m with you on that.”

“ **Hey!** ” The fangirl trio felt insulted.

“Oh, wow. So many volunteers. I wish I could pick all over you guys, but I can only pick one sadly.” Erica said. “ _And that one_ _is…_ **YOU!** ”

She then pointed out to the crowd and everyone grew silent on who exactly she picked. Everyone in front of us turned to our direction. And the people behind us were staring us down. It was then after looking over the situation again, I realized who she picked.

Not Futaba.

Not Amitie.

Not Rin.

But in fact…

“ **M-M-Me?!** ”

“That’s right! Come on down, lucky cutie fan!”

“Oh. My. God. **Feli, you are SOOO lucky!** ” Rin cheered.

“Go on, Feli! Get up there!” Futaba said as she kept pushing me closer to the stage.

“ **H-Hey! W-Wait! C-Can I at least think about it first?! Futaba!** ”

She didn’t listen to a word I said. And I was eventually on stage with Erica while having one of those microphones being placed around my ear and given a wand similar to hers.

_How the hell did this happen?_

“Thank you so much for helping me out! What’s your name?” Erica asked me.

I didn’t know what else to do at this point. So I decided to just go along with this cheesy act.

“Uh…F-Feli. Feli Kuromi.” I said.

“ **K-K-Kuromi?!** ” Erica looked like she had the biggest look of shock on her face. But then she quickly got rid of it and gained back her smile.

_What was that all about?_

“A-Anyway…it’s about time we head into battle. Why don’t you take the first strike, Feli?”

“ ** _*sigh*_** I guess.”

I walked over to one of the monsters, not knowing what to do, and proceeded to swing the wand at him.

“Uh…take this?”

***POW***

I don’t know what happened, but the next thing I knew I was flown across the stage and was in some mild pain in my face.

“ _Ow._ ”

I didn’t even get the chance to get up as the other two monsters kept kicking me in the stomach and back repeatedly.

“Hey! What the hell are you dumbasses doing?! This isn’t part of the scri…”

***POW***

Then all of a sudden, Erica got the same blow to the face I did. And was on the floor next to me.

“ **Shut the hell up, you damn bitch!** ” One of the monsters yelled. Then that same monster picked me up by my shirt and brought me to its face.

“ _Hehhehhehheh. Hey there, Feli. Remember us?_ ”

“H-Huh? Th-That voice…”

“ _Here. I’ll give you a hint. Boys!_ ”

After a snap of his fingers, the other two monsters came over and removed the head of the costume. When the face was revealed, I instantly grew scared.

“ _N-N-No. Y-Y-You’re… **You’re the thugs from the restaurant!**_ ”

“ ** _Hahahaha!_** That's right! Betcha never thought you'll see us again, huh?! Well, I told you we'll be back! And now we're going to **MURDER** your loli ass!”

“ _M-M…Murder?_ ”

“Aw, don’t you know? Little bitches who mess with us, get the most brutal and painful beating of their lives. It was a big mistake fighting back that day. And now you’re going to pay with your life!”

“ _N-N-No! Pl-Please! Please don’t kill me! I-I’m sorry!_ ”

“ **It’s too late for apologies, you little shit!** ” The leader then threw me on the hard stage ground. Leaving me with a bunch of bruises and bloody cuts on my body.

“Boys! Kill her!”

“ **Hey!** ” I could barely hear a voice due to my injuries. But I did see Futaba rush onto the stage hold a silver baseball bat standing in front of me.

“D-Damnit! Futaba’s here, too!” One of the goons said in fear.

"You damn scum of the earth! I thought I told you shitheads to leave us alone! The fact that you came here and not only ruin a good performance but try to kill my best friend in the process! **This time, I won’t go easy on you!** ”

“ **Bring it, you bitch! I’ll be more than happy to kill the both of you!** ” The leader shouted with rage.

“ **HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!** ” I watched as Futaba charged at the main bully. She swung her bat, only to have it blocked by his left arm. While his right arm punched her in the stomach. And while Futaba clinched in pain, he kicked her as hard as he could. Sending her to the ground next to me.

But unlike me, she never got up. In fact…she didn’t move at all. I saw blood coming from her head as it poured out onto the floor.

“Futaba?! **Futaba! Please wake up! Futaba!** ” I shouted in a panicked fear as I shook her body repeatedly. Trying to get her to get up. But to no avail.

“ _Hahahahahaha. This is it. This is **FINALLY** it! I’m finally getting my revenge! Say your prayers, Feli Kuromi! Cause after this one strike from this bat, your new home will be six feet below the ground! **Hahahahaha!**_ ”

“ _N-No…No! **NOOOO!**_ ”

“ ** _Hahaha! Say your fucking prayers, you little…_** ”

“ **Zodiac!** ”

***PING***

“ **Gah! What the hell?!** ”

All of a sudden, I was saved by a purple aura that knocked the bat right out of the bully’s hands. I had no idea what was happening, but then I felt my body being picked up and dropped on my two feet. That’s when I saw who it was that did that spell.

“E-Erica?!”

“Are you okay, Feli?”

“Y-Yeah. J-Just little bruised. B-But how did you…”

“I’ll explain later. Just help me get rid of these assholes.” She said that with a serious look on her face and a threating tone. It gave me the same feeling inside of me. All the fear I had was gone. And instead replaced…

…with rage.

“Let’s kick their asses!” I yelled in anger.

“Don’t need to tell me twice!” Erica yelled back.

“ ** _Grr…_** _Goddamnit!_ **Boys! Show them no mercy!** ”

“ **Yes, Boss!** " The two lackeys began charging at us at full speed and no doubt strong power. I looked over at Erica. And it felt like she was thinking the same thing I was.

“ **Horary!** ” I shouted.

“ **Zodiac!** ” Erica shouted.

A stream of blue and purple aura came out of my dowsing rods and Erica’s wand. Freezing the two goons in their place as they were near inches from us.

“ **B-Boss! I-I can’t move!** ”

“ **I-I’m stuck, Boss!** ”

“ **Tch!** ” Was all he said.

“ **Alright, Feli! Next attack!** ”

“ **Right, Erica!** ”

We both separated from each other, pointing at each goon with our weapons as we prepared our next spells.

“ **Significator!** ”

“ **Chronocrator!** ”

We both cast a spell that created oddly-shaped stars (mine being light pink while Erica’s being light-yellow) and blasted them at the two goons. Blasting them both off the stage and leaving them knocked out.

“ **No! This isn’t what I planned! I was supposed to beat you this time, Kuromi! Why else would I take this retarded ass job?!** ”

“So you only took this gig just so you could kill a 15-year-old girl?!” Erica yelled with rage. “Such evil will not be tolerated! Time to put you in your place!”

I was about to say something too. But then I felt a tug on my arm. And turned to see Futaba getting up. Using me as balance.

“F-Futaba! A-Are you alright?!”

“ _I ***cough*** I’m okay, Feli. Just a bit sore. Now…what do you say we finish off this narcissistic asshole once and for all?_ ”

I smiled greatly as I held Futaba’s hand with all the confidence I had inside me.

“Let’s do it.”

“ **Kick his ass, guys! You can do it!** ” Rin shouted from the audience. “ **Kick his ass! Kick his ass! Kick his ass! Kick his ass!** ”

Then proceeded to chant something that sounded extremely inappropriate with how most of the audience being kids.

“ **Kick his ass! Kick his ass! Kick his ass! Kick his ass!** ”

“ **Kick his ass! Kick his ass! Kick his ass! Kick his ass!** ”

“ **Kick his ass! Kick his ass! Kick his ass! Kick his ass!** ”

But no one seemed to care. Soon, Hinata began saying it. Then Naoko. Then Amitie. Then Lidelle. And eventually, the entire audience began chanting it.

Well…expect Lemres. Instead, he looked at me and gave me a thumbs up. Which is his way of saying “You can do it, Feli. I believe in you.”.

It was the most touching moment of my life.

“ **Gah! As if I’m going to let that fucking happen! You’re all dead!** ” The leader shouted before charging at us three.

“ **Get fucking back!** ” Futaba shouted as she swung her bat at the guy’s leg. Knocking him down on one knee. Once down, she turned to us and gave a thumbs up.

That was our cue.

“ **Alright, Feli. Time to finish this! You ready?!** ”

“ **Ready, Erica!** ”

We both then raised our weapons in the air. Forming my dowsing rods into an X-shape and Erica placing her wand in dead center. And soon a bright yellow light began to appear over our heads. Tracing itself into the shape of an 8-pointed star. It kept getting bigger and bigger. Until it couldn’t get any bigger.

And then…both me and Erica said this:

“ _You unfortunate being of life!”_

 _“Witness the true power of the_ _occult art of divination!_ ”

“ _You probably won’t survive such an experience…_ ”

“ ** _BUT SUCH. IS. FATE!_** ”

…Before shooting off the biggest attack spell I’ve ever known.

“ **Principal Star!** ”

“ **GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!** ”

***BOOM***

Now I know what you’re thinking. I just killed a guy. Well, no. I didn’t. That spell ties people up in a rope of light and makes them unable to move. And it’s exactly what it did to the leader bully once the smoke cleared out. He laid on the ground. Tied up and unable to move.

It was clearly obvious…that he was defeated.

As we stood there regaining our breaths, Erica started giggling. And it soon turned to laughter.

“ ** _*giggle*_** Yeah! Another monster defeated! Thanks for helping me out, fellow magical girls and boys! Let’s keep going until no more monsters exist! **Cutie!** ”

“ **CUTIE!** ” Everyone in the crowd shouted.

And as everyone started to cheer for us, I felt Erica grab hold of my hand and held it tight. It was a bit weird to me. But when Futaba did the same thing, I instantly let the whole thing sly.

Because I knew my bond with Futaba had increased greatly at that moment. But now, I was feeling an even stronger bond with Erica. I’m not sure why, but I think I really enjoy it.

“ **Cutie!** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Act 5 of 6 finally begins! And it starts with an unexpected battle alongside The Magical Girl Cutie Pie, Erica! So what could Feli mean by having a strong bond with her? Some deep secrets are to be revealed…next chapter. Keep reading for more. Later.


	15. Act 5-2 – Cutie Pie Erica’s True Identity

“ _…And as we know so far, the three suspects are currently being held in the local correctional institute on charges of aggravated assault. Which could lead each individual spending 20 years behind bars._ ”

“Woah! I can’t believe you fought off a group of thugs and beat them with Erica-chan! How does that even happen?!” Yuuta asked me as we all sat in the restaurant watching a news broadcast about what happened yesterday.

“I honestly don’t know. I honestly thought it was part of the cheesy performance. But once that first punch came, I knew it wasn’t.”

“ _Aw, damn._ And I could've seen it too. But I had to be at school."

“Well, that’s what you get for failing that history test last week.” Futaba said.

“ _Ugh. Don’t remind me._ ”

"Well, in any case…with those thugs behind bars, we can finally have some peace in this restaurant." Satoshi said.

“I know, right? Now I won’t have to swing around that bamboo stick like a complete maniac.” Futaba said.

“Futaba. You did that even on days the thugs never showed up at all.” Yuuta said.

“Yep.”

“Sorry, Honey. It’s true.” Satoshi and I agreed.

“W-Well, I…sh-shut up!”

“N-No! Knock it off!”

“ _Aw come on, Hinata. Just one more time, please? I never get this sort of chance with Futaba._ ”

“There’s probably a good reason for that!”

“ ** _*sigh*_** Miki. Leave Hinata alone.” Satoshi said to his wife, who was trying to get Hinata to wear the maid outfit again. This time, she wanted to take pictures. Which is why the two are arguing right now.

“ _But dear…I just to take a few pictures. It may be a while before this gets worn again and I just want a few memories._ ”

“When are you going to return that thing?”

“ **Never! It’s my most prized possession!** ”

“Mom…” Yuuta facepalmed.

“Mrs. Okazaki! Can I **_please_** get my shirt back?!” Hinata yelled from the back room.

“You took her shirt? Mom, why?” Futaba asked.

“I was trying to convince her.”

“How would taking her shirt convince her to wear the maid outfit?” I asked.

“ _Well…_ ”

“ **They’re huge!** ”

“ **So very huge!** ”

These were the voices of Amitie and Lidelle, who were back there with the others when all of this was going on.

“ **St-Stop staring, you two!** ” Hinata yelled.

“W-Well, maybe I could go convince her…”

***POW***

“Down, boy!” Futaba said after hitting her brother in the head.

“ _In other news, the performance done by famed anime star Cutie Pie Erica was a smash hit at the Haranishi High School Cultural Festival. Unfortunately…due to the unexpected events that took place, an encore performance has been canceled. Along with the entire second day of the Cultural Festival._ ”

“ ** _*sigh*_** Guess I ruined the Cultural Festival, huh?” I asked in guilt.

“Huh? Are you kidding? That was the greatest festival of my life. I’ve never had such excitement before.” Futaba said.

“But you got beaten up.”

“So? You did too. And yet, we were able to enjoy ourselves for the remainder of the day.”

“Yeah, but…”

"And besides!" Rin yelled as she wrapped her arms around me. Her sleeves from her jacket drooping due to not being filled completely. "You got to fight alongside Erica-chan! The fact that you were standing right next to her…you even still have her scent! **I’m never letting go of you, Feli!** ”

“Gah! Rin! Cut it out!”

As I tried to get Rin off me, we heard the bell over the door ring as it opened. Showing that someone had walked inside the restaurant.

And that someone…was a person none of us expected.

“Oh sorry, Miss. We’re closed.” Satoshi said.

“O-Oh, um…”

“ **Dad! What are you doing?! That’s Erica!** ” Futaba shouted.

“Huh? Really?”

“ **Oh. My. God! Amitie! Get out here!** ” Rin shouted partially in my ear.

"What is it, Rin…" Amitie came out to the front of the restaurant and froze in place once she saw Erica standing there in the entrance. Wearing a purple & white t-shirt and some black shorts along with some boots that were the same colors as her shirt.

“ **Wh-Wh-What?! E-Erica-chan?!** ”

“Wh-What are you doing here?!” Futaba asked.

“W-Well…I heard that this is where you girls tend to be at. So I came by to thank you two for helping me yesterday.”

“O-Oh, that. You’re very welcome for that. We all had a great time.”

“And it was fun to watch, too.” Amitie said.

“Sure was! It was great seeing our gothic lolita fight side-by-side with you, Erica-chan!” Rin cheered as she hugged me even tighter.

“For God’s sake, Rin! Let me go!” I yelled. Trying to break free.

“Well, I’m glad you all enjoyed it.” Erica said with a smile.

…

…

“So like, what do you want anyway? We’re closed.”

“ **Yuuta!** ” The trio of fangirls shouted at him.

“Um, actually…I was hoping I could talk to Feli.”

“Huh? To Feli?” Everyone asked.

“To me?” I asked. “What for?”

“It’s…well, there’s actually something I want to show you. As a way of saying thanks.”

“Really?”

“Go on, Feli.” Futaba said to me. “Not many people get to have this experience.”

“Um…okay, sure. I’ll go with you, Erica.”

“Great. Thank you very much, Feli.” Erica said. “But, um…is she ever going to let go?” She then asked while pointing at Rin, who was still clinging onto me.

“I got it.” Naoko said as she came by and pulled Rin off me. I was able to breathe normally, but I think Rin destroyed my hearing for a bit.

“Anyway…I’ll be back, you guys.” I said.

“Have fun, you lucky girl.” Futaba said as me and Erica left outside the restaurant to…honestly, I don’t really know.

_Probably should’ve asked before agreeing to this…_

 

With me walking down the street with a celebrity like Erica, no doubt people kept staring at us. It was rather unnerving. I think I even got some threatening looks from the real fans of this anime.

Once we got away from that, though, I just had to ask.

“H-Hey, um…Erica. J-Just where are we going?”

"It's actually someplace important. Please bear with it a little more."

“Um…okay?”

And so, just a few minutes later, we stopped in front of a place that never came across my mind when I agreed to do this.

“A…cemetery?”

“Yes. This is it. My way of showing my gratitude for yesterday.” Erica actually sounded depressed when saying that. Does she…know someone that’s buried her?

“Hey, are you feeling okay?” I asked.

Erica didn’t answer. She instead started walking into the cemetery without even so much as a warning.

“H-Hey!” I yelled as I ran after her.

“Sorry, Feli. It’s just **_*sniff*_** someone I knew is buried here. In fact, it’s **_*sniff*_** two people.”

“Huh?”

“ ** _*sniff*_** _I-I’m sorry. L-Let’s keep walking and I’ll explain along the way. ***light cries of sadness***_

_Now she’s crying? Just what’s going on?_

As we continued trekking through the cemetery, passing multiple gravestones along the way, Erica finally opened up about this trip she’s taking me on.

“ _Y-You see, Feli…th-the people buried here…a-are my parents._ ”

“Y-Your parents?”

“ _Their names were Miharu and Jiro. They knew each other since they were grade schools and were always together. They dated, got married after college, and soon had two children. With me being the oldest._ ”

“I see. And they’re buried here, huh? What happened to them?”

Erica only got sadder when I asked that. I even saw a few tears run down her face. Whatever happened, it must be really bad.

“ _It was 12 years ago. Mom, Dad, my little sister, and I were driving home from a fun day at the amusement park. We had so much. I remember it like it was yesterday._ ”

…

“ _B-But then, out of nowhere…we got rammed by what I now know was a drunk driver. He was speeding really fast and ran the red light. And the impact…it was brutal._ ”

“Brutal?”

“ _Brutal as in…my parents were killed on impact._ ”

“N…No way…”

“ _Luckily, my little sister and I survived. But only barely._ ”

“W-Well…th-that has to be good? Right?”

…

…

_Something tells me it’s not good._

“ _Once we got out the hospital and told about our parent’s deaths, we were both put into foster care. Thing is…we were put into separate homes. I never wanted that to happen. And tried to fight it off. But…but since I was only 6 at the time, no one gave a damn. And so my 3-year-old little sister, my only family member left, was taken away from me. And I ***sniff*** and I never saw her again._”

“So they just decided to separate you both just **MOMENTS** after finding out your parents died and believed it was okay?! The absolute **NERVE** of them!” I yelled.

But then…something appeared in my mind. Almost like it was triggered once Erica told me that story.

“A-And now that I think about it…I think I remember having a sister at one point in my life. My memory of her is very vague, but…yeah. Yeah, I do remember having a sister.”

“ ** _*giggle*_** _I know, Feli._ ” Erica said with her first smile since coming in here.

“Huh? H-How do you know that? Are you psychic?”

Erica didn’t answer and went silent again. A common thing with her current sadness. Then as she suddenly stopped in place, she grabbed my hand. Forcing me to stop with her. She looked even sadder now. Even though I couldn’t really tell with how she was looking over to the left for some reason.

But as I looked over her, at the gravestone that she was staring at…I understood why she was dead silent.

“ _Here lies Jiro & Miharu ______. A lovely couple that are gone. But never forgotten._”

“Th-This is…”

“ _Yep. My parent’s grave. They wanted to be buried together. So that they’ll be together forever. Even in the afterlife._ ”

“Whoa. That’s so sweet.”

As I continued to look at the grave, I noticed something kinda a bit off on it.

“Hey. The last name is covered up. It looks like…i-is that…p-paint?”

“ _Yeah. Someone covered it up. Purposely._ ”

“ **What?! What kind of sick bastard would do such a thing?!** ” I shouted in an angry voice.

“ _Th-There’s a good reason for that._ ”

“A good reason? For **_this_**?!”

“ _I’m the sick bastard who did this._ ”

“Huh?”

Erica went silent once more. This time sitting on the ground in front of the grave site of her long-dead parents. Not knowing what else to do, I sat down next to her and joined in with the silence.

That is until…she finally spoke again.

“Feli…I-I have to be honest with you.”

“Be honest?” I was confused.

“J-Just hear me out. It’ll all make sense soon enough.”

“Um…okay.”

Erica sighed a little. Then she started explaining what was apparently the truth.

"Y-You see…ever since I lost contact with my little sister, I've spent most of my life searching for her. I would sneak out the foster home I was in and go to other ones to find her. But I would either always get caught, or never find her there. This went on for about a year or two. Until I finally got adopted.”

“Y-You got adopted?! S-So did I!” I yelled. Which made Erica grow a smile on her face.

"Yeah. The family that adopted me were really nice. They knew how much I missed my sister. And did whatever they could to make me as happy as I possibly could. It was…okay, at best."

“Hmph. Well, you sure are lucky.” I pouted.

“Huh? Why?”

“When I got adopted, I was put into the care of such an evil woman. She would beat me, abuse me, neglect me, not feed me and sometimes even took my panties so I wouldn’t have any to wear. And then with the checks from the government she would get, she never spend it on me. It was always stuff for her. And then I would starve unless I stole some of the money from her.

I then started to cry myself.

“ _It was pure hell. I was so miserable that I tried to kill myself a few times. My life for the past 3 years was total bullshit! I hated it all and no one cared! I-I…_ ”

I was then cut off by Erica, who was hugging me tightly while crying her own tears of sadness once again. I don’t know why, but…it felt nice. That special connection I had with her yesterday came back. Only it was stronger than ever. And I never wanted it to end.

“Feli…I’m going to remove the paint. What’s under it…it may shock you. Are you ready for it?”

…

“O-Okay.” I said. Calm enough to gain a small smile.

Erica released me from the hug and went over to the gravestone. She then started to slowly remove the paint. And as more and more came off, I started seeing a name being revealed.

And after re-reading the inscription, I was speechless.

“ _Here lies Jiro & Miharu Kuromi. A lovely couple that are gone. But never forgotten._”

“J-Jiro…a-and Miharu… ** _Kuromi?!_** ”

Erica only smiled at me as I tried to process this new information.

“ **B-B-But…I-I don’t understand! A-Aren’t these your parents?!** ”

…

“ **Erica?!** ”

“My name is not Erica.”

“ **Huh?!** ”

“Well…it’s just my stage name. People only knew me by that name. Though I do have a real one.”

I sat there confused enough to have my brain explode with madness. So much stuff was being poured onto me. I don’t know how to take it.

"A-About that story…I never did give up on searching for my little sister. Even though I went by Erica most of my life, I secretly get called by my true name by the parents who did adopt me. It kept motivating me to continue searching for her."

…

“And then…yesterday came. I had accepted a gig at Haranishi just for the fun of it. It wasn’t my first live performance, but I was still nervous for some reason. Like an aching pain was in my heart. I sat outside the stage to try and calm down. But that’s…

…

…that’s when I saw you. Walking around with your friends. I felt this extreme force coming from you. And I had to get a closer look. S-So I…purposely chose you from the audience.”

“Y-You did?”

“Yeah. And when you said that your last name was Kuromi, I knew it was finally over.”

“F-Finally over? W-Wait…don’t tell me…”

Erica smiled with her teary-eyed face as she stood up. grabbing both my hands as she pulled me up with her. Her orange eyes were staring directly at me. And like the hand holding and hug from earlier, it felt right for some reason.

A reason…that would finally be answered.

“Feli. My real name…is Mao Kuromi. I’m 18-years-old. And I’m…your older sister.”

“N…”

“N-No.”

“ **NO WAY!** ” I screamed in a mix of pure joy and sadness before shouting something I thought I would never say in my entire life.

“ **SIIIIIIIIIIS!** ”

Then cried my eyes out and Eri…I mean Mao did the same as we both hugged each other after being separated for nearly 12 years.

“ ** _I-I can’t believe it! I actually have a sister! I thought I was forever alone because my family abandoned me! But to have you here…I LOVE YOU, SIS! PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME AGAIN!_** ”

“ ** _I LOVE YOU TOO, FELI! I’LL NEVER LEAVE YOUR SIDE EVER AGAIN! AFTER FINALLY FINDING YOU…I’M SO HAPPY!!!_** ”

We both continued to cry together in the cemetery (an odd yet fitting place to cry at) until we heard the sounds of someone clapping their hands at a slow pace. We turned over to see someone I didn’t expect to be here.

“L-Lemres?!”

“Hello there, Feli.” Lemres said with a tip of his hat.

“Wh-What are you doing here?!”

"So sorry for spying. But when I saw you two leave the restaurant together, I had my suspicions. But the more I listened in, the more answers I got. And soon, my theory was proven right."

“Huh? Your theory?” We both asked.

“You see, when I first saw “Erica” in person yesterday, the amount of magical power she had was very similar to yours, Feli. Only a small difference in which she had more.”

“S-So those attacks…” I turned to Mao.

“Yeah. I’ve been studying the occult art of divination on my own. The spells people see in the anime are less harmful versions of the spells I really know. I guess it’s another thing we have in common as sisters, huh?”

I stared at Mao for a bit. Then smiled as I gave her another hug. Glad that someone understood my passion for doing these charms.

“So when did you notice?” Mao asked Lemres.

"Right after the first spell you performed. The rest just made it more obvious."

“I see.”

Then something came to mind when Lemres explained why he was here. Not “here” as in the cemetery. But as in this world as a whole.

“S-So Lemres. S-So you being here…”

“ ** _*chuckle*_** You’re right, Feli. I came here to look for your parents. I left telling everyone that I had special warlock things to take care of and won’t be back for a long time. Though I only told Lidelle where I was truly going. Mainly because she was the only person who knew about the solar eclipse warp. I really felt bad lying to you. But I wanted it to be a surprise. Thing is, with this world so big, it was rather difficult.”

“Quick question. This “other world”. Is it supposedly named Primp Town?” Mao asked.

“Y-Yeah, it is. H-How do you know that?” I asked her.

“I saw it a lot when I was learning the occult arts. It said that it’s the birthplace of it all. Is that true?”

“Well…I’m not too sure. But it sounds like it, though.”

“Wow. This Primp place must be filled with magic. Good and bad, am I right?”

“Yeah. You’re not wrong.” Both Lemres and I said.

***INSERT SOUNDS YOU WOULD NORMALLY HEAR AT A HAUNTED CEMETERY HERE.***

“You hear that, Feli? It’s the sounds of pure creepiness.” Mao said.

“Yeah. And there’s a full moon out, too.”

“ _You thinking what I’m thinking?_ ” Mao then asked while pulling out her magic wand from her back pocket.

“ _Is it…perform charms that will help us talk to the dead?_ ” I guessed while I pulled out my dowsing rods from my back pocket.

“ _You’re dead on, dear sis._ ”

“ _Why thank you, dear sis._ ”

“ ** _Fufufufu!_** ”

“ ** _Fufufufu!_** ”

“Now now, girls. Let’s not disturb the dead. They may not like that.” Lemres said.

“ _R-Right. S-Sorry, Lemres._ ” We both said while being mildly embarrassed.

“ ** _*chuckle*_** You two really are sisters.”

We wanted to ask what the hell he meant by that. But as Lemres walked away from us with a smile on his face, we accentually decided to let it sly.

Besides, being reunited with my long-lost sister was way more important than figuring out how I just got insulted.

At least **_I_** think it is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Erica’s lifelong secret has been revealed. She’s the long-lost older sister to Feli. Named Mao Kuromi. Now with the two sisters finally reunited, what’s next for Feli now? Find out in the last part of Act 5.
> 
> So a few things…
> 
> Mao had the same origin as characters like Peruvis, Chetta, Floré, and others. As in, they’re characters form Puyo Quest. But given a personality. I don’t use Quest all the time for new characters. But it helps sometimes.
> 
> The punishment for aggravated assault (in the US) varies by state. I went with Texas (the state I live in) because it ranges from 2 to 20 years. Which I believed was appropriate enough. I wanted to stick with Japan on this one. But over there, aggravated assault can (possibly) get you the death penalty. That’s a bit extreme in my opinion.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading. Feel free to review/favorite/follow/kudos the story if you enjoy it. Later.


	16. Act 5 Intermission – Colliding the Two Worlds

***MEANWHILE, BACK IN PRIMP…***

 

“Feli… ** _abused_**?”

This was said by Raffina as it was the next day at school. Like what Arle and Ringo had requested, I went ahead and told her and Klug what I knew.

And they were surprisingly more attentive than I thought they would be.

“Yeah. Feli has been abused and neglected by her stepmom. And with that, and what everyone said about her, she ran away to another world. And that’s where Amitie and Lidelle went to. They want to apologize to her and possibly bring her back. Although, we don’t think that’s likely.”

“Geez. And to think she’s been keeping all of that a secret for so long. No wonder she has a screw loose.” Klug said.

“Uh…I wouldn’t exactly call it a “ _screw loose_ ”.”

“Well, whatever. Now that we know where they are, we can stop looking for them and move on with our lives.”

“Move on?! Did you **NOT** hear what he just said, you ass?!” Raffina yelled at him.

“Yeah! I did! Did **YOU**?! Those three are long gone in a different world! There isn’t a chance in hell they’ll come back!”

“Uh…guys.” I tried to but in.

“Honestly! You are so heartless! No wonder Feli hated your guts!”

“Ha! And you think she didn’t hate you?! You were just as bad!”

“Guys…” I tried again.

“ ** _Grr…_** _You know, Klug. If you keep up this snarky-like behavior, you’ll never get a girlfriend._ ”

“ **Tch!** ” Klug twitched a little.

“ _Oh, La-Ti-Da!_ ”

“W-Well, what about you?! It’s no secret that you prefer to date other girls!”

“ **Wh-Wh-What?! H-How do you…Wh-Who told you that?!** ” Raffina started blushing really hard.

“Like I said, it’s no secret.”

“ **I-I-Is this true?!** ” Raffina then started yelling at me.

“Yep. Pretty obvious, Wuffina.”

“ ** _Nooooooooooo!_** " Raffina then crouched onto the floor. Too embarrassed to even look at us.

“Oh grow up, will you?” Klug said.

“What’s wrong with Raffina?” Arle asked as she, Ringo, and Carbuncle came inside the classroom.

“She’s upset that everyone knew about her being a lesbian.” I said.

“ **S-Sig!** ” Raffina yelled.

“Huh. So she finally realized?”

“ **What?! Arle, you knew too?!** ”

“Well, duh. Everyone knows.”

“You didn’t really do a good job of hiding it.” Ringo added.

“Guu guu.” Carbuncle said.

“ ** _*whine*_** ”

“Good morning, kiddies.” Ms. Accord said as she walked into the classroom.

“Whatcha talking about, meow?” Popoi asked.

“Raffina’s homosexuality.”

“ **Oh my God! Sig! Stop!** ” Raffina yelled me again.

“I see. Well, good for you, Raffina.”

“You finally came out of the closet, meow.”

“Wh-What…Whatever.” Raffina finally gave up.

“We were also talking about how we now know where those three girls ran off to.” Klug said.

“Aw, yes. Amitie, Lidelle, and Feli’s disappearance. I’ve been meaning to tell you all something.”

“Huh? Tell us something?” We all asked.

“I had recently gotten word from Lemres. The three of them are doing fine and are under his care. In fact, they might come back day after tomorrow.”

“ **What?! Lemres is with them?!** ” Klug shouted. Then grew a smirk as his fixed his glasses a little. “ ** _*chuckle*_** Leave it to Lemres to solve everything. As he usually does. No wonder he’s such a powerful magic user.”

“Suck up.” Raffina said.

“Ha?”

“Wait, hold on. Didn’t Lemres say that he had to do something related to the comet warlocks?” Arle asked.

“To tell the truth…that was all a lie.”

“ **A LIE?!** ” We all shouted.

“His real plans were to find Feli’s parents, meow.” Popoi said.

“Find Feli’s parents?” Ringo asked. “Wait, so that means…”

“Indeed it does, Ringo. Feli was born in this other world. Though through unknown means, she came to Primp and was taken in by her stepmom. An action that shouldn’t have happened.”

“So you both knew she was being abused?” I asked.

"Yes. And we tried reasoning with her. Convincing her to treat her a little better. She would agree, but never keep her promise. So Lemres and I came up with this plan."

"Okay, but how did you guys manage to get in contact with this other world?" Klug asked. "From what Arle keeps saying, it's not an easy process."

“Well, it has to do with a solar eclipse that happens every night for 7 ½ minutes. A portal to the other world opens up from the tunnel nearby. It only works at night, during that time limit.”

“And meowently, only buses can go through it.” Popoi added.

“Busses? **_*bleck*_** No wonder we never knew about it.” Raffina said.

“Spoiled.” Klug said.

“ _What was that?_ ”

“But that still doesn’t explain how the girls got there.” Ringo said.

“Well, we believe that Feli got there by accident. Not knowing about the eclipse. And then Amitie was guided there by Lidelle, who knows about the eclipse.” Ms. Accord explained.

“Huh? Lidelle knew?” Klug asked.

“In fact, there are four people here in Primp who know about this other world and how to get there. Me being one. Lemres being two. Lidelle being three.”

“And who’s four?” Arle asked.

Before Ms. Accord could answer, we heard a knock on the door. And saw a silhouette of someone standing outside the classroom.

“Four has just arrived.” Ms. Accord said. Which left all of us confused. “Come in.”

“Uh…Harmony-senpai…”

“Lily? What are you doing here?” Raffina asked her maid.

“Aw, geez. Y-You never said that Miss Raffina would be here. I thought this was a private chat.”

“Private chat?” We asked.

“Come on, Lily. Don’t you want to help Melody find Amitie?” Ms. Accord asked.

“Well, yes, but… ** _*sigh*_** you know getting in contact with her was rather difficult and possibly dangerous.”

“Yes. We know, meow.” Popoi said.

“Wait, getting in contact with who? And how is Lily the 4th person?” Raffina asked.

“U-Uh…w-well…” Lily stuttered.

“ ** _*giggle*_** Well, you see, kiddies. Lily here has a doppelgänger.”

…

…

“ **She has a WHAT?!** ” We all shouted after each replaying in our minds what our teacher had told us.

“ ** _*sigh*_** Harmony-senpai. Why’d you have to say it so nonchalantly?” Lily asked her.

“You know that’s how she is, Lily, meow.” Popoi said…before getting a light bonk on the head from Ms. Accord’s cane.

“ _Me **OW!**_ ”

“Lily! Is this true?!” Raffina demanded.

“ ** _*sigh*_** Yes, Miss Raffina. It’s true. I have a doppelgänger. And she lives in this other world that your friends have gone to. It happened when I was in high school. Us two, along with Melody-senpai, Yumi, and Rulue-senpai, found this weird mirror in our clubroom one day. And after messing around with it, it sliced me in half based on my personalities. My normal mature side, which is me currently. And then my fun side became my doppelgänger.”

“Y-Your…fun side?” Arle asked. “ _Why couldn’t mine be like that?_ ”

“Huh?” We asked.

“N-Nothing. A-Anyway, why was it dangerous to contact her, Lily?”

“Because…a doppelgänger can’t be in the same world as their host. As it would cause a tear in space-time. And could destroy the universe they both reside in.”

“Woah.” I said.

“So we sent her to this other world. And from what she told me not long ago, she did just fine. She even became a teacher.”

“This is so highly illogical.” Ringo said.

“Well, that’s interesting and all. But how is this information going to benefit us?” Klug asked.

“Well, don’t we just have this Lily open the portal from this end and the doppelgänger open it from the other end?”

Everyone then looked at me with looks of pure shock.

“What?” I asked.

“W-Wow, Sig.” Klug said.

“You’re smarter than you look.” Raffina added.

_I’ll take that as a compliment…_

“Yes, Mister Sig. That is the gist of it.” Lily said.

“A day from tomorrow, huh? Wait a sec. What about her stepmom? There’s no way she’ll want to go back with her.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, Sig.” Ms. Accord said. “I already have someone working on that. **_*giggle*_** ”

I decided not to question her about that. I like Ms. Accord, but she can be a bit suspicious at times.

 ** _*sigh*_** _At least this whole thing will be over soon. I haven’t taken a nap in over a month._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a follow-up to Act 5-2. As it was going to be a part of that. But the final product was already long enough. Plus, didn’t want this story to end with an odd number. Thanks for reading. Later.


	17. Act 5-3 – Smiles & Tears

“ **WHAT?!** ”

“ **YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS!** ”

“ **ERICA-CHAN’S…YOUR SISTER?!** ”

“Pleased to officially meet you all. My name is Mao Kuromi. Feli Kuromi’s older sister.”

“ **HO-LY CRAP!!!** ” The three fangirls couldn’t contain themselves as we told them the big news.

“Wow. Who would’ve thought the two of you would be long-lost sisters?” Lidelle asked.

“Although, that I look at the both of you…you do share some facial features.” Hinata said.

“The only things different are Mao’s orange eyes and slightly darker purple hair.” Naoko added.

“Well, I know one thing they’re similar at…” Yuuta said as he kept staring at us. I started getting that same uncomfortable feeling from the night I first met him.

“Uh…Yu…”

***POW***

“ ** _Quit staring, you perv!_** ” Futaba shouted after hitting Yuuta in the head.

“ **How am I a perv?! You’re the one who pointed out that they’re both flat-chested!** ”

“ _Fl…Flat…_ ” Both Mao and I said in a sad tone.

“ **Yuuta!** ”

“ _I-It’s not like we wanted to be flat…_ ” I said.

“ _I-It’s just that we’re stuck with this size. Probably because of Mom._ ” Mao said.

“ _Damn you, Mom._ ”

“ _Damn you, Mom._ ” 

“Aw, come on, guys. Nothing wrong with being flat-chested.” Rin said. “One benefit is that ours don’t jiggle every time we run.”

“ **R-Rin!** ” Futaba and Hinata shouted with high amounts of redness on their faces. While Naoko began to laugh hysterically.

“ **Y-You shut the hell up!** ” Both girls yelled.

“Aw, come on, guys. It was kinda funny. Be proud of your… ** _*snicker*_** T-Tig ‘ol Bitties.”

“ ** _Naoko…_** ”

“Man. Thank God that we’re dudes, right?” Yuuta asked Lemres.

“I’ll admit. There are some benefits.”

“ **You two are not helping!** ” Hinata yelled at them.

“Wow. So, do you guys normally talk about chest sizes on your days off, or is this a new trend?”

“Huh? Sensei? What are you doing here?” Futaba asked our teacher, who had walked into the restaurant.

“ **N-N-No way! L-Lidelle…I-Isn’t that…** ” Amitie tried to ask.

“ **Y-Yeah…i-it has to be…** ”

“ **Li-** ”

I managed to cover their mouths before they said anything thing else.

“ _Shhh! Guys, please! Don’t say it! I’ll explain later! Just please don’t say it!_ ”

Both girls looked confused as hell. But they eventually agreed to let it go for now.

**_*phew*_ ** _That was close._

“Ah. So you must be Ily. I was told to look out for you.” Lemres said.

“And you’re Lemres, right? I heard a couple of people needed to go back to the other world. Though I didn’t think you girls knew them.”

“We’ve just recently met.” Naoko said.

“I see.”

“W-Wait a second. Does this mean…that you guys are leaving?” Rin asked.

“Sorry, Rin. But we have to go back sooner or later. I never told my mom I left.” Amitie said.

“Yeah. I bet my family’s worried about me, too.” Lidelle said.

“ _Aw. But being with you guys was so fun._ ”

“No doubt about that.” Amitie said.

“So you guys are going back to Primp Town?” Mao asked.

“Yeah. Gotta get home.” Lidelle said. “With us being gone for a month, people must be worried sick.”

“I see…”

Mao then went silent for a bit. She was definitely thinking of something. Something big. Though I don’t know what.

At least…not until 3…2…1…

“I wanna go too.”

“ **HUH?!** ” The entire room shouted.

“ **M-Mao! A-Are you serious?!** ” I asked.

“ **Wh-What about Erica-chan?!** ” Futaba asked.

“Well…don’t get me wrong. I love being Erica-chan. But…I’ve spent most of my life looking for Feli. And now that I’ve done that, I just want to spend as much time with her as possible. I’ve missed so much time with her. And now knowing how much she’s suffered under the care of that bitch of a stepmom.”

Mao then grabbed and held me into a great big hug.

“ _I…I just want to start over. Me and my little sister. Just the two of us._ ”

I felt her tears run down my neck as she cried hard over my shoulder. I really do feel bad for her. Even though my stepmom was pure evil, she was technically family. Mao was all alone from the moment our parents died up to now. I can totally understand why she wants to do this…

…

_B-But…what do **I** want to do?_

“U-Uh…M-Mao, I…”

“Feli. I think you should go.”

“Huh?!” I turned to face Futaba. “A-Are you sure?!”

“Stupid. Did you even think about what I said the other day?”

"Y-Yeah, I did!  Thought about it long and hard! I thought I made my decision. But then meeting Mao, and finding out she's my sister. And now that she wants to go to Primp and be with me…I-I mean…"

I then felt tears run down my own face. I’ve felt this much sadness since first coming to this world. And now…possibly leaving it…b-but I get to be with my sister. One I never knew I had.

_Why is this…s-so hard?_

“Feli. It’s okay.” Futaba said. “We know what you’re thinking.”

“ ** _*sniff*_** _Y-You do?_ ”

“We know that you’ll miss us. And we’ll miss you, too.” Hinata said.

“But we all know how much you wanted a place to belong. An actual family.” Naoko said.

“You and Mao were separated for 12 years. You shouldn’t be separated any longer than that.” Rin said.

All four of them had tears in their eyes. And at this point, the tears on my face became so heavy, I couldn’t stop myself. It was too much. I felt like I was…

“ _G…Guys…_ ” I said.

The five of us then got together in a group hug as we all finally broke down crying.

“ **I’m gonna… _*sniff*_ I’M GONNA MISS YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!** ”

“ **WE’LL MISS YOU TOO, FELI! YOU’LL ALWAYS BE OUR BEST FRIEND!!!** ”

 

“Wow. Those five have really gotten close, huh?” I asked Lidelle as we watched the five of them cry their final goodbyes.

“Yeah. They seem like they’re the best of friends.”

“Oh, trust me. They are.” The woman who looks identical to Lily said to us. “When Feli started going to Haranishi about a month ago, the five of them were always together. Always doing stuff and enjoying one’s company. It was pure bliss for them.”

“I see. Well, I’m sure they’ll never forget each other.” Lidelle said.

“Yeah. Would be shocking if they did. Thanks for the info, uh…”

_Wait! What do I call her?! She looks **EXACTLY** like Lily!_

“ ** _*giggle*_** Don’t worry, girls. I know you think I’m Lily. I’m actually her doppelgänger.”

“Woah. Lily has a doppelgänger?” I asked.

"Never thought her of all people would have one." Lidelle said.

“Yeah. People said that a lot back then. Pissed Lily off a lot, too.”

“Wow. Lily got pissed?”

“I know, right?”

Lily’s doppelgänger then cleared her throat to get the attention of the five crying girls huddled up in a circle.

“Anyway…the next solar eclipse is in fact tomorrow. So these really are some of your final moments together as a group. Use them wisely, girls.”

“ ** _*sniff*_** _Y-Yes, Sensei!_ ” All five girls cheered.

 

That night, everyone had gone home. Well, not everyone. It was me, Futaba, Hinata, Naoko, and Rin gathered up in Futaba's room as wanted to spend our last night together as a group. A sleepover may seem childish to some people. But this was going to be a special one. At least, that's what the others told me.

“Alright, girls. Let the “Feli’s Farewell Sleepover” begin!” Futaba cheered.

“Uh…FFS?” Hinata asked.

“What? I couldn’t think of a word that starts with an F and means to sleep at one’s house, okay? Lay off.”

“Alright, alright.”

“Still, though…I just can’t believe that this is going to be our last night together with Feli. It’s going to be rough.” Rin said.

“I know, Rin. I’m going to miss her, too.” Naoko said before turning to me. “You’re a really nice girl, Feli. A bit of a weirdo, but still a nice girl.”

“Hey, wait. How am I a weirdo?” I asked feeling insulted.

“Well, for starters…”

***SMACK***

“Shut it, Naoko.” Futaba said after hitting her in the head.

“She kinda has a point, Futaba.” Hinata said. “Feli, what were those actions you did with Mao during the festival?”

“O-Oh, those? J-Just a couple of spells and charms I know of. People back in Primp use them a lot.”

“Really? So people back in your world are magic users?”

“Well…most of them. Only a small few don’t know any.”

“ _Woah…_ ” All four girls said.

“So…if I go to your world someday, Feli, can I learn these magic spells?” Rin asked.

“Um, well…I-I guess.”

“ **Yay! I can be like Erica-chan!** ”

“You mean Mao.”

“R-Right. Mao. Geez, that’s another thing. With Mao going with you, there’s going to be no more Magical Girl Cutie Pie Erica’s Heart-throbbing Miracle Cure.”

“ _A blessing in disguise._ ” Hinata, Naoko, and I said.

“ **Hey!** ” Futaba and Rin yelled at us.

"But still…Mao did tell me that the producers were okay with her leaving and said they'll find a replacement. Think she said something about a spin-off…"

“ **A spin-off?!** ”

“Damnit! Now it’s going to be even harder since Amitie won’t be with us!” Rin yelled.

“ _The Cutie Pie Trio is back to a duo once more!_ ” Futaba whined.

_The Cutie Pie Trio? Really?_

“W-Well, anyway…” I said. “Tomorrow’s going to be a bit rough.”

“Oh, right. You’re telling the class that you’re leaving. Do you think you can handle that?” Futaba asked.

"What? Do you think I can't? I mean, you did ditch me on my first day of school and I had to introduce myself to the whole class on my own."

“W-Well…y-you did it, right? I was only helping you out a little.”

“ ** _*sigh*_** Your ways of helping are quite questionable.”

“Sh-Shut up!”

***KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK***

“Girls. Lights out.” We heard Satoshi’s voice.

“Okay, Dad.”

“Well, look on the bright side, Feli. You won’t have to wear the school uniform during the summer months. They’re brutal.” Hinata said.

“Yeah, they are.” Naoko agreed. “Especially for girls with tig ‘ol bitties.”

“ _I am kicking your ass tomorrow._ ” Futaba said in a threatening tone.

“ _Double for me._ ” Hinata added.

“Worth it.”

“Is it really?” Rin asked me.

“I don’t think so.”

 

The next morning, was the start of an emotional day. After waiting for the others to put their uniforms on (I’m wearing the clothes from yesterday), I said my final goodbyes to Satoshi, Miki, and Yuuta. As I won’t be around when they get back home for the day.

“ _Oh. I’m going to miss you, Feli. It was like having a second daughter around._ ”

“W-Wow. Th-Thanks, Miki. That really means a lot.”

“ _And plus, I won’t have anyone to try on my maid outfits._ ”

“Uh…”

“Miki. No one did that for you.” Satoshi said. “Willingly, I mean.”

“What? What are you talking about, dear? Hinata liked them.”

“ **No, I did not!** ” Hinata yelled.

“Though Miki was right about the first part. You were like a third child to me, Feli. And I really appreciated and enjoyed the help you gave at the restaurant. You will be missed.”

“Thank you for those words, Satoshi.” I said with a smile.

“Man, it’s gonna suck not having you around, Feli. I’ve to deal with Futaba and her weirdness on my own.” Yuuta said.

“Yeah, she is kinda weird.”

“ _Hey. I’m standing right here, you know._ ” Futaba got insulted.

“Yeah, we know.” We both said.

“Tch! Let’s just go already. We’re going to be late.” Futaba left through the front door still a little pissed off. With the others following her out. I was about to go after them. But when I noticed that Satoshi and Miki had left, well…there’s something I just had to do.

“Hey, Yuuta. Hold on a sec.”

“What’s up, Fe-”

***SMOOCH***

Before he could finish, I gave Yuuta a quick kiss on his cheek and gave him a hug. Letting him process in his mind what just happened.

“F-Feli, I…”

“ _Shh._ I didn’t want to say this in front of Futaba…but I think you’re kinda cute.”

“R-Really?!”

“Yeah. Promise me you won’t tell your sister, though.”

“Y-Yeah, sure. I-I can keep a secret.”

“ ** _*giggle*_** Thanks, Yuuta. I’ll miss you.”

I gave him another kiss before heading out the door. Catching up to the others as I went to my last day at Haranishi High School.

 

Part two of my emotional last day began at my soon-to-be-old school. Where I told the other classmates that I was leaving today. Obviously, they were sad. Some were even crying. And it almost made me cry a little, too.

“ _Aw! Kuromi-san’s leaving?!_ ” One girl asked.

“Yes, it’s true.” Nakamura said. “Kuromi-san will be leaving us today. This will be her last class with us.”

“What brought this up, Kuromi-san?” Another girl asked.

“Some family events have surfaced recently. So me and a family member are moving back to my hometown.”

“A family member?” The class asked.

“Come on, Feli! Tell everyone who it is!” Rin yelled.

“Alright, alright.” I took a quick sigh before continuing on. “Well…you guys know Erica-chan, right?”

“Erica-chan?”

“Wait, you mean **_THE_** Erica-chan?”

“Yeah, that’s her. Well…turns out, she’s my long-lost sister.”

“ **WHAT?! ERICA-CHAN’S YOUR SISTER?!** ” The entire class shouted in total shock.

“I know! That’s exactly what we said!” Rin yelled.

“So I guess that explains why they announced this morning that they’re going to stop making episodes of Magical Girl Cutie Pie Erica’s Heart-throbbing Miracle Cure.”

“But rumors say that they’re making a spin-off in its place. At least, that’s what Feli told us.” Futaba said.

“ _Ooh…_ ”

“Alright, girls. Let’s start class. Even though Kuromi-san is leaving today, we shouldn’t let it affect our studies.” Nakamura said.

“Yes, Sensei.”

The school day went as normal as any other day. Although at lunch, people were asking if I could get Mao a.k.a Erica-chan’s autograph. I told them it didn’t seem possible. Since we were leaving right when school ended.

When school did end, by the way, something amazing happened.

“Oh, Kuromi-san. Could stand at the front of the classroom for a sec?” Class rep asked me.

“Huh? What for?”

“Trust me, you’ll love it.”

“Um…okay.”

I went up to the front of the room and faced the entire class. Including Futaba, Hinata, Naoko, and Rin. They all had smiles….but they also had tears.

“Alright, everyone.” Class rep said. “Stand!”

Everyone stood up from their desks.

“Bow!”

Everyone bowed.

Then, they all said this:

“It’s been a pleasure studying with you, Kuromi-san! We’ll miss you greatly!”

I was speechless for a second. Granted, this didn’t make a lot of sense to me. But I knew what their intent was. And it made me so happy.

“G-Guys…I’ll miss you all greatly as well.” I said with a smile. Holding in my tears while doing so.

 

It was now late afternoon. And after saying goodbye to my now old classmates and now old school, the five of us went with Nakamura towards the bus station. Where Amitie, Lidelle, Lemres, Mao, and Bal were waiting.

“Hey, guys.”

“Wow, Feli. You look like you had an eventful day.” Lidelle said to me.

“Yeah. You could say that. I had to say a lot of goodbyes today.”

“Yeah, Figured so.”

“You know. Even though we’ve only known each other for a couple days, I feel like the 8 of us are really good best friends.” Naoko said.

“Yeah, I feel the same way.” Amitie said. “I only wish we’ve met you guys sooner.”

“ ** _*whine*_** _Amitie! It’s going to be horrible without you here! We won’t be able to enjoy the Cutie Pie spin-off together!_ ” Rin whined like she was about to cry.

“ **Wait, what?! There’s going to be a Cutie Pie spin-off?! _*whine* And I just had to leave now of all times!_** ”

“Not to worry, Amitie. I’ve got something that will help. Here.” Futaba said as she gave Amitie a sheet of paper.

“ _Crunchyroll_? What’s this?”

“It’s a streaming site where you could watch a whole bunch of anime from this world. When the spin-off starts airing here, it’ll appear on that site about an hour later. So you won’t be able to miss it.”

“ **Wow! Really?!** ”

“Will that even work in Primp?” Mao asked Lemres.

“It could. And if it doesn’t, I could find ways for it to do so.”

“I see.”

“Well, it looks like you got a souvenir, Amitie.” I said.

“ **Yep! So neat-o!** ”

“ _If she comes by my house and talks non-stop about this anime, I’m blaming you for it._ ” Lidelle whispered to me.

“ _Noted._ ”

**_*Attention passengers. The next bus heading to Pmirp Nwot will be leaving soon. Please head for the loading area.*_ **

“Huh? What kind of name was that?” Hinata asked.

"It's Primp Town backwards." Lidelle explained. "Since this bus goes to a different world, the station keeps it a secret by scrambling the letters. And because of that, almost no one takes that bus. Thus, keeping the whole thing a secret."

“I see. That’s pretty creative.”

***SOUND OF AN ALARM***

“ _And…_ that’s it. The portal is open. You guys better get on quick.” Nakamura said.

“Right. We do only have 7 ½ minutes.” Lemres added.

“ ** _*sigh*_** Well, guys. This is it.” I said as I look at the four girls in front of me.

“Good luck, Feli.” Hinata said. “I do hope life goes better for you and Mao back home.”

“And despite what I said before, you were super fun to have around.” Naoko said.

“ ** _*whine* FELI! I'M GONNA MISS YOU SO MUCH!_** ” Rin began to cry as she hugged me real tight.

“I’ll miss you too, Rin. In fact, I’ll miss all of you.”

I then looked at Futaba, who had the most tears out of all of them. She tried to hide them. But with her eyes all red and puffy, she's wasn't doing a good job at it.

“ _Futaba…_ ”

“ _Feli…_ ”

We both then hugged each other as more and more tears started falling from our eyes. Saying goodbye to the others was hard, but saying it to Futaba…it’s no doubt the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. She was my first friend. She took me in when I was alone in the rain. And she helped me start over my new life in this world. All of those things wouldn’t have been possible without her.

And I’m truly grateful for it all.

“ _I will never forget you._ ”

Those were our final words to each other.

We finally broke apart. Staring at each other’s swollen red eyes one last time before parting ways. With the 6 of us heading for our bus. Back to Primp Town.

 

“ ** _*sigh*_** ”

“You really miss them a lot do you, Feli?” Mao asked me once we were on the bus.

“Yeah. I do. They were all good people. Futaba especially.”

“She really did seem like a nice girl. I wish I remembered to thank her for taking good care of you while you were here.”

“Don’t worry, Mao. I’m sure she knows.”

“You think so?”

“I **know** so. Futaba Okazaki is the nicest girl I’ve ever known.”

“ ** _*giggle*_** I see. Well, if it’s coming from you, then it must be true.”

“Yeah.”

We both went silent as we both started to get sleepy from being on the bus for so long. We won’t make it back to Primp until the next morning. So we don’t have a choice but to sleep here.

“Hey, I’ve heard that you have a dog. What’s his name?” Mao asked.

“His name’s Baldanders. But everyone calls him Bal for short. You never got to meet him didn’t you?”

“No, not really. This whole thing was kinda sudden.”

“Even though this was your idea?”

“W-Well, you know what I mean.”

“ ** _*giggle*_** I know. I could give you a little peak. He’s inside this bag.”

“Really? I’ve heard that he’s rather big.”

“He’s fine. Right, Bal?”

“ARF!” Bal popped his head out of the bag. Keeping his body hidden enough from being seen by the bus driver.

“ _Aw. What a cutie._ ”

“Bal. This is my older sister, Mao. She’s going to live with us.”

“ARF?”

“Yep. I have an older sister. Pretty neat, huh?”

“ARF! ARF ARF!”

“ ** _*groan*_** ”

It was at this moment that I remembered something. Something I wanted to forget, and I did for a little over a month. But now that I was going back to Primp, it came back to mind.

As much as I didn’t want it to.

“What’s wrong?” Mao asked.

"My Stepmom. There's still her to deal with. I'm legally under her care. So once we get back…"

“Oh. Right. Damnit.”

“Not to worry, girls.” Lemres said from one seat ahead. “I’ve heard that the problem’s already been solved.”

“Huh?! How?!” We both asked.

“ ** _*chuckle*_** You’ll have to wait and see.” Lemres then turned back around in his chair. Seemingly ending the conversation.

Not knowing what he meant by that, of course we were confused. But we were getting too sleepy to bother with it. So we finally closed our eyes and went to sleep.

Holding each other in our arms. Something we haven't done in over a decade.

_So this is what family love is like. I could get used to this._

 

**_End of Act 5_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feli says goodbye to Futaba and friends. And leaves the world of Japan to go back to Primp. She isn’t alone, though. With Amitie, Lidelle, Lemres, Baldanders, and her older sister Mao at her side, she hopes her return to Primp life will be better than her old one.
> 
> I’ll be honest…I almost cried a few times while writing this. Coming up with these type of moments on the spot can make you feel a little emotional.
> 
> You’re probably wondering if this is the end of these characters making appearances, huh? Well, no. It’s not. Futaba does return in Puyo Puyo: Frozen Hearts, a story I wrote back in December. As for the others, they’ll come back as well. In a future story that takes place after this.
> 
> We’re only one more act away from the end. Tomorrow, the final chapter will be uploaded. And then Feli’s Existence will be completed. Keep an eye of for it.
> 
> Thanks for reading. Feel free to review/favorite/follow/kudos the story. Later.


	18. Act 6 – Her True Existence

“ _Feli…Feli…_ ”

**_*moan*_ **

“ _Feli…wake up._ ”

“ _Hm? Amitie?_ ”

“ _We’re here. We’re back in Primp._ ”

“ _Huh? W-We are?_ ” I looked out the window and saw the familiar landscape that this town is known for. I knew now that it was true.

“Hey. Mao. Wake up.”

“ ** _*moan*_** _Huh? Wh-What time is it?_ ”

“8:15. In the morning, to be exact.” Lemres said as he and Lidelle walked up to us.

“W-Wait, huh? We actually slept all night? I wanted to see how that solar eclipse thing worked.”

“Yeah, me too. Probably could’ve used that power to… _n-never mind._ ” I had a thought in mind. But after thinking about it, it made me depressed again.

“You miss them. Don’t you, Feli?” Amitie asked.

…

“Y-Yeah. I-I miss them a lot.”

“Don’t worry, Feli. I’m sure we’ll see them again soon.” Lidelle said.

“Yeah, Lidelle’s right.” Amitie said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll see them again. We’re all friends to the end. Even in different worlds.”

What everyone was saying really brought a smile onto my face. It may be true that we’re in different worlds. Making it difficult for us to see each other. But I know we’ll find a way.

To see each other once more.

“We’re pulling up at the station now. Is everyone ready?” Lemres asked.

“”Yep.” Amitie said.

“Yes.” Lidelle said.

“Ready.” Mao said.

…

“Y-Yeah. I-I guess.” I said nervously.

Once the bus made a full stop, we grabbed our stuff and got off. There waiting for us were Sig and his little sister Chu. I guess they knew that I was in the other world. And they’re probably here to meet up with us.

“We’re back!” Amitie cheered.

“Welcome back.” Sig said.

“Welcome back, Amytee and Rita.” Chu said.

“It’s _Amitie_ , Chu.”

“Seriously! Where did you get Rita from?!” Lidelle whined.

**_*giggle*_ ** _Oh, yeah. I forgot that Chu has a hard time remembering names. The ones she comes up with are pretty hilarious. Although I kinda feel bad for those people._

“H-Hey…guys.” I said.

“Feli. You look different.” Sig said.

“Huh? I do?”

“Almost like a new person. New clothes, new mood. You seem happy.”

“Was that other world a life-changing experience or something?” Chu asked.

_Is it that obvious?_

“Y-You know…it really was. I don’t regret going there. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have met my older sister.”

“Older sister?” The siblings asked.

“Oh, right. This is my older sister.” I pointed to Mao.

“Hello. My name’s Mao Kuromi. And it’s true. Feli and I are indeed sisters. We were separated between worlds all this time. And I wanted to come back with her.”

“Huh. Nice to meet you, Mao. I’m Sig. That’s my little sister Chu.”

“Chu!” Chu repeated.

…

…

“Are they depressed or something?” Mao asked.

“No. They always have that face. No matter what emotion they’re feeling.” Amitie explained.

“I see.”

“Anyway, I should get home now. Pretty sure Mom’s worried sick about me.”

…

“Either that, or she’s asleep. Probably the second one. Anyway…bye, guys!” Amitie then ran off towards her house. Waving at us as she did so.

“I better go too. I gotta cook breakfast for my family. Goodbye, everyone.” Lidelle said before making her way home.

“Bye, guys.” I said. “ ** _*sigh*_** Guess we should go home too, huh?” I asked Mao.

“Do were really have to go **_there_**? I don’t want to meet that woman.”

“Well, you don’t have to.” Lemres said.

“Huh?”

“Sig. I assume everything worked out?”

“Huh?” Sig looked confused for a second. “Oh, yeah. It did. I brought a copy with me.”

“A copy of what?” I asked as Sig gave a copy of the newspaper. And there, printed in bold capital letters, was something I never thought would ever happen.

Not in a million years…

Not in a billion years…

Not in a trillion years…

_Wh-Wha…What the…_

“ ** _Local Mom Arrested For Child Abuse_ / _Neglect. Teen Hid In Fear For 12 Years._** ”

“ ** _H-H-How?! H-How did you…_** ” I was shocked to make words come out of my mouth.

“ ** _*chuckle*_** We asked someone to spill the beans on this whole ordeal. We gave him all the information we knew, plus some stuff he learned from stakeout he did. And he wrote that article.” Lemres explained. “Call it a…ghost writer, if you must.”

“U-Unbelievable. S-So she’s…”

“She’s gone, Feli. You don’t have to fear or worry about her ever again.”

“N-No way…I-I’m free. **I-I’m finally free! Mao! I’m free!** ”

“ ** _*giggle*_** I heard you, Feli. And I’m glad for you.”

“You mean glad for us! Come on, let’s go home! _OUR_ home!”

“Right behind you, Feli!”

“Bye, you guys! Thank you ever so much for the help!”

“You’re welcome, Feli.” Lemres said.

“See ya.” Chu said.

“ ** _Zzz…_** ” Sig was asleep. Guess he was tired from all the stuff he did recently.

_I don’t blame him, though. I would be tired, too._

 

“ **Mom! I’m home!** ” I shouted.

“H-Huh?! O-Oh! There you are, Ammy! Where have you been?!”

“Another world.”

“What?”

“Long story short, I was with a few friends.”

“Yeah, but for a month? Without coming home? What, were you guys having a sweet rave party or something?”

“No, Mom. You know I’m too young for sweet rave parties.”

“Well, there are sweet rave parties for 15-year-olds.”

“ ** _*sigh*_** Mom. Let’s get this cleared out. I was **NOT** at a sweet rave party.  I’ve **NEVER** been to a sweet rave party. And I will never **GO** to a sweet rave party. Got all that?”

“Yeah, yeah., I got it. No sweet rave party.”

“Thank you.”

“So, are you down for regular rave parties?”

…

…

I started at Mom with an annoyed look my face. But then it went away. With a smile replacing it soon after.

“ ** _*sigh*_** It’s good to see you again, Mom.” I said as I headed for my room.

 

“ ** _Grr…_** _Come on, damnit!_ ”

“ **GAH!** ”

I pushed the door open and we were finally inside my house. Luckily, it didn’t break. Getting it to open was still a struggle, though. Not sure why.

“Geez. Look at this place. It’s a total mess.” Mao said.

And it was a total mess. There was stuff all over the floors, furniture knocked over and glasses broken. And there was one person I knew who could do such a thing.

“Looks like she put up a fight. Or else it wouldn’t look like this.” I said.

“ ** _*sigh*_** Yeah. And now we have to clean up her goddamn destructive rage.”

“It was a final “screw you” from her personally.”

I then went silent for a good while. Mao noticed this and wrapped herself around me in a hug.

“I’m okay, really. She’s the one who’s screwed now.”

“That a girl!” Mao cheered. “Now let’s unpack our stuff. We can focus on cleaning this up later.”

“ ** _*giggle*_** Sure thing, Sis.”

***shuffle noises***

“Oh! Right! Come on out, Bal!” I said as I opened the backpack he was in. Soon he jumped out and began licking us with great excitement and an end nowhere in sight.

“ ** _*giggle*_** Alright, alright! We know you’re happy, Bal!” I said.

“ ** _*giggle*_** We’re happy, too! But you gotta stop licking us!” Mao said.

“ARF!”

Once Bal finally did stop licking us, I headed towards my room and placed my bag on the floor. Looking at it now, it hasn’t changed since I left it a month ago. Well, aside from a few stuff being moved.

_Wait, why were they moved?_

Then just seconds later, I answered my own question when I noticed a black garbage bag sitting in the middle of my room. Attached to it was a simple note. Which read:

_Hey, Feli._

_Your Stepmom tried to throw away your stuff and turn your room into a beauty lounge. I managed to save your stuff from going to the dump. But a few may be damaged. Sorry about that._

_Sig_

“ ** _*sigh*_** Well, I guess that explains it.” I said to myself before going through the bag. Taking out the stuff inside.

There was a ton of it in here. My occult stuff, my books, my clothes, my shoes. She even managed to put the extra packs of panties that I kept hidden in here. The absolute nerve of…

“…Wait. Why are there a few missing?”

I looked in the bag to see if they fell out or something. But it was empty. I was extremely confused (and a little pissed) until I looked at the note again. Apparently, there was more written on the bottom. And that part read:

_P.S. Chu took a few unused pairs of panties. She ran out of hers and our washer broke. She said they fit fine. Kinda odd, though._

“ _Tch. Why…_ ”

“ _Why…_ ”

“ ** _WHY, DAMNIT?! WHY?!_** ” I shouted from the top of my lungs.

“ **Feli?! What’s wrong?!** ” Mao yelled as she barged inside my room.

“ ** _*sniff*_** _Mao…_ ” I began crying as I went up to hug her.

“ _Mao…it’s horrible._ ”

“What is it?! What happened?!” At first, it was a struggle to tell her. But I managed to do so.

“ _Mao ***sniff* I WEAR THE SAME SIZE PANTIES AS AN 11-YEAR-OLD!!!**_ ”

…

…

…

“ _M-Mao…_ ”

…

“Feli. Grow up.” She finally said after a long pause.

“Huh?! Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?!” I yelled.

Mao didn’t answer. And instead, walked out my room with little to no interest in answering my question.

“H-Hey! Mao! Get back here! **Mao!** ”

“Hmm…I wonder what we’re going to eat for dinner.” Mao said to herself.

“ **ANSWER MY QUESTION, DAMNIT!** ” I shouted as I started chasing after her.

 

The whole thing with the underwear eventually blew over. And the two of us enjoyed our time together as the only two people in this house. The same house that was once my own personal hell. we both were inexperienced with cooking. So we just ordered a pizza and called it a night afterwards.

After I took my bath, I laid in my bed just twirling one of my dowsing rods in the air. If it wasn't clear before now, I'm bored out of my mind. It was only 9:28 at night and I was nowhere near tired. I usually get tired while talking with Futaba at night. But…now that we're separated…

***KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK***

“Yeah?”

“Hey, Feli. Doing alright?” Mao asked.

“ ** _*sigh*_** More or less. Trying to sleep is going to be quite difficult now.”

“I see. It was easier back in the other world, huh?”

“Yeah. It was.”

Mao came over and sat on my bed as I continued to twirl my rod in the air. That was when something came to mind. And with Mao here, I could probably ask her.

“Hey, Mao. I…I just gotta ask. What were Mom and Dad like when we were younger?”

"Mom and Dad?" Mao went silent for a bit. "Well…from what I remember, they were really nice and caring. We did a lot of stuff together as a family. And while Mom stayed at home taking care of us, Dad was a successful businessman and aspiring inventor."

“Aspiring inventor? What would he create?”

“Well…he never would say. Always telling us it’s “classified information”. But based on the reports I kinda-sorta understood at the time, people believed he was a nutcase.”

“A nutcase, huh? Kinda like us.”

“No, no. **EXACTLY** like us.”

“ ** _*giggle*_** Yeah, okay. I admit.” I said as we both laughed it off for a while.

“And then, at night…Mom would sing us a very special song to help us sleep.”

“A special song?” I asked.

"It was a song that her mom sang to her as a child. It was a deep part of her childhood. And when she sang it to us, it was so…peaceful. Her voice was soothing. You couldn't help but fall asleep to it."

“Wow, really? What was the song? Do you know it? Sing it to me! Please?!”

“Alright, alright. You know you’re needy, right?”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Mao then cleared her throat before singing the song that was a huge part of our childhood.

“ _Take a melody,_

_Simple as can be._

_Give it some words and_

_Sweet harmony._

_Raise your voices!_

_All day long now,_

_Love grows strong now,_

_Sing a melody of_

_Love, oh love._

_Take a melody,_

_Simple as can be._

_Give it some words and_

_Sweet harmony._

_Raise your voices!_

_All day long now,_

_Love grows strong now,_

_Sing a melody of_

_Love, oh love._

_Love is the power,_

_Love is the glory,_

_Love is the beauty_

_And the joy of spring._

_Love is the magic,_

_Love is the story,_

_Love is the melody we all can sing._

_Take a melody,_

_Simple as can be._

_Give it some words and_

_Sweet harmony._

_Raise your voices!_

_All day long now,_

_Love grows strong now,_

_Sing a melody of_

_Love, Oh love! Oh, love! Oh, love!_ ”

As I sat there and listened to her sing, I started forming tears in my eyes. The words, the way she sang it, it was beautiful. But…it wasn’t the only reason. Not by a longshot.

“Huh? Feli, what’s wrong?” Mao asked once she finished.

“ _M-Mao…I remember. I remember that song. Mom would sing that to us every night and I always loved it. And hearing it now after all these years…it made me remember. What our parents were like. They were the best._ ”

Mao grabbed me into a tug as I continued to cry. I then heard her crying a little. So I did the same to her. We continued this for a good long while.

All without saying a word.

 

We soon went to bed in our own separate rooms. And remembering that song that would be sung to me and my sister every night had really made an impact in my sleepiness.

_Such a wonderful song. And Mom had such a wonderful voice. If only I could’ve heard it one more time…_

***BUZZ* *BUZZ***

“Huh? Who could it be at this hour?” I asked as I grabbed my phone and checked my messages.

That’s when I froze in shock.

“ _Hey, Feli. Hope that you're having a better life back home. We all miss you. And wish you were back here with us. But I know we'll see each other again soon. And I can't wait for that to happen!_ ”

_Oh my God…_

The sender address was listed as **_unknown_**. But I knew who it was. And I texted a response before turning the power down on my phone and finally going to sleep.

The message I wrote…was a simple 4-letter sentence. That meant all the world to me. And I’ll treasure it for the rest of my life.

And it read:

“ _Thank you…Futaba Okazaki._ ”

 

**_End of Act 6_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is. The final act. And the end of Feli’s Existence. I really enjoyed writing this story. Probably my favorite one so far. And I’m glad that so many of you guys enjoyed reading it. Really means a lot to me.
> 
> Just one thing to point out. The song Mao was singing that their mom sang to them when they were younger is a simpler version of Eight Melodies from Mother/Earthbound Beginnings. I was going to use it in a different story. But it got scrapped. And it’s been on my computer without me using it until now. Glad I got to finally.
> 
> Well…that’s it. Thank you all once again who enjoyed the story. This is story #2 of the “Special of Puyo Puyo” series. And more stories are to come in the future. Until then, this is the story’s final goodbye. Later.

**Author's Note:**

> This is Act 1 of 3. Unsure when Act 2 comes along. Thanks for reading.


End file.
